Renewed Optimism in Kolkata’s Real Estate as the East-West Corridor is Fast-Tracked

 

Kolkata is set to receive the first underwater river tunnel in the country, namely, the East-West Metro Tunnel. The underwater metro will be the part of the expansive Kolkata Metro Line 2 (or the East-West Corridor) that stretches to around 17 KM, connecting Teghoria in East Kolkata with Howrah via Salt Lake.

Out of the two proposed underwater lines, one has been already completed. Structure for stations has already been built in Phoolbagan and Sealdah.

The initial cost of the project was pegged at a little less than INR 5,000 crore. Thereafter, the prices have risen to INR 8,500 Crores due to some challenges in land allocation. Currently, the work is being completed on a war footing.

The project once concluded will provide easy mass-commute between Kolkata, Howrah, and the Salt Lake region (alongside nearby locations such as Rajarhat Newtown.)

Further backed by suburban railways, boat ways, and bus services, East-West Corridor will be the backbone of commercial activities in the city. By 2035, it is expected that the daily commute of the corridor will reach a million. 

A Potential Windfall for Rajarhat Newtown Region

As the East-West corridor will be connected with the North-South Corridor, passing through Central, connectivity to the upcoming Rajarhat Newtown area with the rest of the city will be expedited.  The region will be integrated with other parts of Kolkata, thereby enticing a lot of homebuyers’ interest.

The Rajarhat Newtown region came into existence during the dusk of the 90s – the same time when another satellite town was gaining prominence in North- Gurgaon or Gurugram as it is called now.

Gurgaon became the Millennium city, Rajarhat, which is also known as New Kolkata (along with New Town & Salt Lake V) marked its presence on the map of Kolkata as an upcoming commercial and business destination.

Rajarhat, along with the other adjacent areas, is already an upcoming destination. Synonymous to its name as New Kolkata, the region is host to sprawling IT Parks & IT-enabled services. A major chunk of IT companies is concentrated in the region.

Its proximity to the airport (12 KM) has also helped it draw the attention of commercial occupiers. NH-12 is at a distance of just 3 KM. In tandem with a bullish job market, the region is also witnessing a host of new shopping complexes, educational hubs & recreational facilities. The biggest park in India, The New Town Eco Park, is also situated in the region. Spread across a whopping 480 acres of land, the park is dotted with urban theme forests, wetlands, theme gardens, urban recreational spaces & much more.

Despite an emerging location with a fair amount of commercial catchments, residents from main Kolkata have been wary of the Rajarhat region as it is located far off from the main city.

Once the East-West metro corridor will be operational, it will be very convenient to reach the region. At present due to heavy traffic & congestion, it takes around 1- 1.5 hrs to reach Rajarhat from central Kolkata via road.

However, this time will be drastically slashed to just 15-20 minutes, once the metro corridor is operational. This will naturally translate into more homebuyer interest in the region. Buyers from various parts of the city will start flocking into the region after the metro line comes into service.

Presently, the prices are in the range of around INR 3,500- 7,000/ Sq. Ft. However, with the metro project coming into the picture, the prices can skyrocket by around 50% in the span of the next 3-5 years. Similar results have been chronicled by Garia in the past.

Once the metro line was extended to Garia from Tollygunj, Garia witnessed a spurt in housing demand. Before the metro, average prices in Garia were around INR 2,000/ Sq. Ft.  Following the commencement of the metro lines, prices are now north of INR 5,000/ Sq. Ft.

Author: Sanjeev Arora, Director- 360 Realtors

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