With work in progress on 21-km stretch of Noida-Ghaziabad link road, the spotlight is on the realty projects in nearby areas

TNS

With new cities being added regularly, the NCR kitty is growing and evolving rapidly. But infrastructure development remains a major issue in most of these NCR areas as far as the growth of the real estate sector is concerned. Though Gurgaon and Noida are considered the growth engines of real estate in the Delhi-NCR area, there are certain pockets even in these ‘old’ NCR towns that are yet to develop fully due to the lack of proper growth of infrastructure. Realty experts opine that the major NCR towns are reaching a saturation point as far as prices and supply of residential stock are concerned, and both buyers and developers are moving out to the periphery areas. In such a scenario connectivity between different NCR towns will be a major factor in the emergence of new residential destinations for mid-segment buyers.

With the Noida Authority going full throttle on completing the Noida-Ghaziabad link road, potential home buyers can now put the sectors and areas along this road on their radar. “As much as 10 to 12 per cent of Delhi’s load is shared by Noida and Ghaziabad. After the completion of this road within the next eight to nine months the commuting time from Delhi will be just 30 minutes. This will make it a good option for those looking for a home close to their workplaces”, says Anil Mithas, CMD, Unnati Fortune Group.

Conceived originally as FNG (Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad) Expressway in the early 1990s, this corridor was meant to link the three NCR cities independently. According to the initial plan, the corridor was to be 56-km long and was to connect NH-24 near Ghaziabad and NH-2. But the project remained in a limbo for a long time with the Haryana government opted out of it in the late 1990s. As the project is part of the Noida Master Plan 2021, the Noida Authority (NA) is in the process of completing the Noida-Ghaziabad stretch of it, resurrecting the project as 75-m-wide, and 21-km-long Noida-Ghaziabad link road. Almost 16 km stretch of this link road is in the NA’s jurisdiction. The route of the link road begins from Sector 63, Noida, which abuts NH-24 and ends at Sector 168 along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. Encroachments and illegal squatters have been the major hurdles faced by the authorities in completing the work on this vital link road that will ensure smooth travel between Noida and Ghaziabad and faster access to Greater Noida.

The link road will affect realty fortunes, too, in the region as better connectivity will enhance the ‘livability quotient’ of the nearby areas. “This link is going to create a level playing field in the Delhi-NCR and henceforth the focus will rightly be shifting from oft-repeated ‘location, location and location’ to ‘connectivity, connectivity and connectivity’. If the property prices in Gurgaon are high, it is all due to connectivity and this link will help the lesser valued markets like Noida and Ghaziabad to scale up in its value and liveability index”, says Navneet Bhadla, Director, Brys Group.

With a number of developers already active in the area, market watchers claim that as many as 43 residential projects are likely to benefit from this. These projects have an inventory of around 30,000 to 35,000 residential units with over 6,000 still on offer.

The developers having projects in the vicinity include Unnati Fortune group, Supertech, Sikka group, 3C, Ajnara, Amrapali group, Prateek Buildtech, Eldeco, RG Group, Logix etc. While the Supertech group launched ‘The Romano’ project in the area (Sector 118) recently, the work is already in progress at Unnati Fortune group’s Aranya project (Sector 119) along the link road. The prices in Unnati’s 19-acre Aranya are in the range of Rs 4,500 to Rs 7,500 per sq ft. Supertech will be investing Rs 1350 crore in its Roman-themed project and the price range being offered is Rs 4,350 per sq. ft. “As the market at present is end-user driven, the areas in the vicinity of this upcoming link road are attracting a lot of attention by buyers looking for residential options in the range of Rs 45 to Rs 65 lakh”, says Suresh Gupta, a Ghaziabad-based property consultant. However, the price appreciation will be moderate in the next two to three years, he adds.

Gupta also advises the end users to be alert as a number of developers are still “selling’ their projects as being in the ‘shadow’ area of the FNG Expressway where as in reality Faridabad is no longer a part of it.

“The benefits from this will take time to reach the masses. This being the reality, end users should buy into properties along this stretch thinking about gains maybe 4-5 years down the line”, cautions Ganesh Vasudevan, CEO, Indiaproperty.com.

Fast facts

The 16 km stretch of the link road in Noida begins at Chijarsi village (Sector 63) near NH-24 and will pass through Sectors 119 142, 143B, 167 and 168 along the Greater Noida Expressway and end at Assdullapur village near Sector 168.

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