POWER PACKED PALWAL

With world-class expressways coming up and big industries setting up base their in the area, Palwal is all set to witness a massive industrial and residential boom in the times ahead. Here's an overview to the growth patterns

The national capital region might have become the zone of high-power investments but the Tier-II towns have increasingly become the focus areas of the housing sector. Real estate experts point out that a slight decrease in the real estate market in NCR is also due to the fact that investments and development have been scattered beyond NCR. And, Tier-II towns have massively taken away the share of investment from the NCR - the latest being Palwal, in Haryana.

HUDA has also shown keen interest in developing small Haryana towns. Realising the potential of Palwal, it had recently awarded the construction work of the 135 kmlong KMP Expressway around Palwal to D S Constructions, the company which built the Dhaula Kuan-Gurgaon Expressway. This KMP Expressway will touch Manesar, before terminating at Kundli, NH-1 (G T Road). The expressway is slated for completion by 2009. Another Eastern Peripheral Expressway is underway, which will connect Palwal to Kalindi bypass.

Rohtas Goel, CMD-Omaxe, says: "Palwal has a great potential for real estate development. It enjoys its own natural advantages. It is a key Haryana town situated on the strategic Delhi-Agra Highway, which also has a heavy tourist flow. The town is surrounded by some of the most significant expressways like KMP and Eastern Peripheral. Once completed, the town will also enjoy proximity with the Greater Noida airport. The future of Palwal is bright in every respect. There are also a lot of potential buyers for the projects. Then there is that added advantage offered by Faridabad City."

An Industrial Model Town (IMP) is also being developed by the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) where industries have started coming up.

Says Sameer Gogia, a local property consultant: "Rapid industrialisation is taking place in Palwal. As a result, there has been a sharp demand for housing here. Local industrialists prefer to stay here. Within the next four years, the area will witness a massive industrial and residential boom. The nearly fivelakh strong town is bound to attract heavy population influx in the times to come."

And most importantly, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has cleared the proposal of a metro line to Ballabgarh and land has already been acquired by HUDA for the purpose.

The area will further be beautified with the private mode of development. A world-class integrated township on over 150 acres is currently under construction by real estate major Omaxe, on the Delhi-Agra National Highway-2. The township named 'Omaxe City' will be a complete township within itself, having provisions for hospitals, commercial centres, clubs, nursery-, primary-, middle-, senior-secondary schools and other basic facilities. The real articulation of development is in the construction of a five star hotel by the SRS group on NH-2, about 14 km from Palwal towards Faridabad. The hotel is said to be the first one in the country to have its own helipad.

Anil Jindal of SRS Group says: "A lot of domestic and foreign tourists travel on the Delhi-Agra Highway. But, there are no good hotels in between. There was a need to offer a luxury hotel for the tourists." According to Jindal, the nearly 15-acres-hotel site is being developed in three phases. In the first phase, 5 acres is being undertaken and would be completed by 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Local dealers say that with giants like Omaxe stepping into private housing, other developers are likely to follow suit. Already, Piyush and Era have come up in the area.

Courtesy: ET, dtd: 09^th Nov. 2007