Mumbai has always been known for being the financial capital of the country, one of its mega business hubs and of course, the den of the Bollywood film industry among other epithets. The growth of Mumbai continues rapidly with the influx of thousands of people each day into the city. The municipal limits of Mumbai are thus set to expand even further, almost flowing into other neighboring towns over the next 20-30 years as per experts. Migration has led to skyrocketing housing demand in Mumbai, a city where housing has always been on the shorter side and space comes at a steep premium.
However, demand for housing and real estate has been a major driver for much of the city’s infrastructural development initiatives, particularly in terms of transportation and overall connectivity. CIDCO and MMRDA are nodal agencies which have the responsibility to identify and then develop several emerging areas. Mumbai is expanding rapidly on the side of its western suburbs beyond Dahisar and also on the central portion beyond Thane. There is also rapid expansion till Panvel and beyond on the Navi Mumbai side. Homes in the affordable category are majorly driving this expansion and infrastructural development. Several affordable housing projects have come up in locations that were once considered too far. Top developers have already forayed into large-scale township projects for the affordable and mid-range segments in areas like Dombivali, Panvel and Bhiwandi among other areas.
The incentives provided for affordable housing by the government have also contributed towards the launch of these projects in areas where land prices are relatively low. As per studies, around 51% of new units launched last year came under the affordable housing segment and this increased to a whopping 60% for H1 2018. Most of these projects are located in areas like Panvel, Badlapur, Ambernath, Ambivali and Thane. Projects have also come up in areas like Karanjade, Palaspa and Ulwe and there is rapid development of infrastructure in these peripheral zones for boosting connectivity to Mumbai city.
The Virar-Alibaug Multi Modal Corridor will cover 12 kilometres, linking the National Highways 8, 4B, 3, 17 and 4 along with the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Bhiwandi Bypass. This corridor will generate more employment opportunities and spark growth in areas like Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Dombivali, Virar, Taloja, Uran and Panvel. The corridor will also be a boost for the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, MTHL, Dedicated Freight Corridor and JNPT Port. The new airport will lead to more expansion of Mumbai’s boundaries and should give the real estate sector a major shot in the arm as reports.
In fact, some experts feel that one day, the limits of Mumbai may go all the way till Lonavala even, considering the pace of infrastructural development, connectivity improvements and popularity of peripheral locations as far as real estate is concerned. Some of Mumbai’s top projects in peripheral and affordable locations include Bhoomi by Panvelkar Realtors at Badlapur, Lakhani La Riveria at Old Panvel, Ajmera Rosemary and Rosewood at Kalyan East and Marathon Nexworld at Dombivali among many others.
