Mumbai's subdued property market is hoping to ride to recovery with the country's first monorail. The first phase, stretching 8.9 km from Wadala to Chembur, was launched on February 1 which is five years after the start of construction and two years later than the scheduled launch. Better late than never, realty developers are betting on property prices to soar in the region. They're also keeping a close track on the monorail's next phase. That’s when the eastern suburb of Chembur will be connected with the posh Mahalaxmi area in South Bombay. CNBC-TV18’s Manasvi Ghelani boarded the monorail to find out what the fuss is all about.
Mumbai’s monorail is the second longest monorail after the one in Japan. This is a good initiative by MMRDA which is consortium between the Scomi Engineering Group and Larsen and Toubro (L&T). CNBC-TV18 learns that this is the first phase which is from Wadala to Chembur, but the entire stretch is going to be all the way from Jacob Circle at Mahalaxmi to Chembur.
Also Read: SC frees pvt forest land for realty deals; Oberoi in focusThe sleek air-conditioned coaches painted in bright pink, blue and green can carry 560 passengers at a time, a refreshing change from Mumbai’s BEST buses and overcrowded drabby trains. The six metre high monorail whisks over Eastern Mumbai's narrow lanes and even bridges and creeks.
The monorail is part of the administration's efforts to develop Wadala and the eastern suburb, to ease pressure from the overpopulated island city. So, stage one has been flagged off. Wadala, an eastern neighbourhood of Mumbai is connected with the eastern suburb Chembur with 7 stops on the way. This was preceded by the inauguration of the Eastern Freeway last year that goes from VT station to Ghatkhopar thus passing through Wadala and Chembur.
Stage two is to improve connectivity between Wadala and Mahalaxmi, a posh neighbourhood in South Mumbai. It will pass through Lower Parel, an emerging business district and Mumbai’s largest upcoming realty hub. This is the second stage of the monorail.
The city's administration claims the second stage of the monorail will be ready next year. However, don't forget the first phase itself missed six deadlines and was ready two years late.
UPS Madan, Commissioner, MMRDA said, “The completion itself has taken some time, more than what was expected but once we have gone through all the certifications the system is ready. There are several levels of certification which is required starting from manufacturer of each part or component of the system to third party expert which we had engaged from Singapore, SMRT and then finally Former Chief Commissioner Railway Safety who was notified by the government as safety engineer for this purpose.”
The total project cost is estimated at about Rs 3000 crore. It took Rs 1100 crore to complete the first phase stretching 9 km. Another Rs 800 crore has already been spent on initiating construction of phase 2. The total stretch is about 20 km long from Jacob Circle at Mahalaxhmi to Chembur via Wadala. It will be interesting to see how the real estate developments pan out on this stretch.
Om Ahuja, CEO – Residential Services, Jones Land LaSalle, said, “Chembur happens to be the best connected place of Mumbai and will continue to see lot more demand there. There is not too much of supply which is hitting Chembur as a market. We see Chembur as biggest beneficiary in terms of appreciation. In 1-2 years we may see absolute returns of 20 percent plus. “
Property prices meanwhile are spiraling in Chembur and Wadala on the back of the improved connectivity.
So, if you have missed the bus, the monorail in this case, Jones Lang LaSalle suggests you look at property developments along the second phase i.e. the Mazgaon, Jacob Circle and Byculla belt. Developers like Peninsula Land, Piramal Realty, Raheja Developers, Godrej Properties and Marathon Group all have projects upcoming in these areas in a similar price band of Rs 15,000 a square foot to Rs 25,000 a square foot.
“We would see a turnaround – what we thought Sewri was basically an area which is a low end market area few years back which has now turned out to be a very high-end area in terms of profile of people living there. We will see that similar change happening in Mazgoan, Jacob Circle and specifically Byculla,” Ahuja added.
Property prices had appreciated significantly when the monorail project was announced way back in 2008. Experts say the next big upside may be when Wadala is officially connected with Mahalaxmi via the monorail's second phase. They don't call patience a virtue for nothing.
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