Jewar airport to reinvigorate Greater Noida housing sector: Industry

New Delhi: With the decks being cleared for the construction of a second airport for the capital at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, the residential segment in Greater Noida and along the Yamuna Expressway, in a slump over the last two to three years, will become vibrant once again, say industry experts and stakeholders.

"Any infrastructure intervention of this scale would have a positive impact on economic activity, especially in the tourism, industrial, information technology enabled services (ITeS) and commercial sectors," Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, CBRE India & South East Asia, told IANS.

"Additionally, with commercial activities getting a fillip, there will also be a corresponding positive impact on the residential segment," he added.

The immediate positive impact is expected to be felt in areas which fall within a radius of 30-40 km of the airport -- in this instance, the Yamuna Expressway, Greater Noida and Noida.

"However, as a result of the activity in the primary radius, the subsequent impact would also be felt in a secondary impact zone of 50-60 km," Magazine said.

But it will be a while before the impact is felt. "As the airport has been in planning stages for some time, the impact is expected to be more gradual than immediate, based on the pace of development activity," he noted.

"We have to keep in mind the overall period which would be required to construct and operationalise the airport. The current approval is one of the many which would be required at various stages of planning and implementation," cautioned Rohan Sharma, Associate Director - Research and Real Estate Intelligence Service, JLL India.

"The impact would be felt once the actual development of the airport starts."

Still, this significant infrastructure project was needed to restore interest in neighbouring housing projects that were caught in a slump.

"These regions were witnessing dampened demand as they were more investor-driven than by end users. For these areas to become end-user-centric, sound infrastructure must be in place. The airport will ultimately result in higher housing demand and better price appreciation," Jaffer Ali, Founder and CEO, PropUrban, told IANS.

"Despite being more affordable than areas such as Gurgaon and Delhi, Greater Noida and the stretch along Yamuna Expressway have not become end-user-driven markets due to lack of infrastructure facilities. The new airport will boost the region`s overall infrastructure and make it more livable and active," he said.

With increased connectivity and several infrastructure upgrades on the anvil, the Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway areas are likely to also emerge as alternate affordable options for first-time home buyers.

"People will begin to recognise the viability of real estate investment in these two areas. It will usher in a large amount of residential and commercial activity," Dharmesh Jain, President, Confederation of Real Estate Developers` Associations of India-Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (CREDAI-MCHI), told IANS.

The enhanced economic activity in the region will also have a strong influence on sectors across categories.

"The upcoming airport will trigger much-awaited economic activity, positively impacting employment, businesses and development... Multinational companies are expected to initiate operations in and around Jewar, which in turn will provide substantial impetus for job creation," Jain said.

According to Supertech Chairman R.K. Arora, the government will, in the first phase, develop 1,000 hectares land for the proposed airport that will help reduce congestion at the Delhi airport.

Simultaneously, the new airport would also boost the tourism industry in nearby cities and have good connectivity thanks to the Yamuna Expressway.

"It will boost tourism in cities like Mathura and Agra. These cities are already well-connected with the national capital via the Yamuna Expressway, but the new airport will increase tourist footfalls. All this will eventually impact the real estate markets in these cities as well," PropUrban`s Ali noted.

"The fact that Jewar Airport is closer to Noida makes it accessible and easy for a large population. This will help boost economic activity, tourism and connectivity in the whole of western Uttar Pradesh," said Nibhrant Shah, Founder and CEO, Isprava, a luxury realty firm promoted by Nadir Godrej.