For nearly a decade Sanjeev Chaudhary, regretted his decision of buying a house at Crossings Republik on National Highway (NH) 24. Connectivity with NH 24, was the only reason he invested in a large integrated township in the location, in 2006. “I am not residing in Crossings Reupblik, as living there and travelling for work, to any other part of Delhi-NCR, will be a nightmare. Adding to my woes, is the fact that there is hardly any scope for resale in this market and rental values are also less than 1%. The NH 24 that should have been the lifeline for this market, has proven to be a punishment, due to congestion and bottlenecks,” laments Chaudhary.
However, Chaudhary and other buyers like him in the region, may have reason to cheer, as the decks have been cleared for widening of the NH 24 to a 14-lane highway. This move is likely to benefit, not only the property market of Crossings Republik but also many other locations along the way. Property markets, right from Noida Extension to Lal Kuan in Ghaziabad and up to Meerut, have suddenly witnessed a spurt in transactions, due to widening of the 21-km stretch of NH 24.
Improved connectivity
The Road Transport and Highways department is building the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, starting from Nizamuddin Bridge on Ring Road. Once finished, commuters will be able to reach Meerut from Delhi in 45-60 minutes and the travel time to Hardwar and Dehradun, will be reduced by almost an hour. The existing NH-24 will be widened to 14 lanes (presently it has eight lanes) up to UP Gate, while the stretch between UP Gate and Dasna will be converted to an eight-lane road. The next phase of the Expressway, will include a six-lane stretch joining Meerut bypass, on a new alignment from Dasna to Meerut.
See also: Affordable housing is Noida Extension’s strongest USP
Rajesh Jalan, a local property agent, expects more developers to launch projects near NH 24, as this place has a huge land bank and boasts of good social infrastructure facilities like a police station, post office, banks and ATMs, schools and colleges, hospitals, the Ghaziabad Railway Station and the metro station. “The prices of residential projects in Noida and Gurgaon, have skyrocketed. Rental properties have also become inaccessible for the common man. The only option, is to explore new and emerging locations. The bottlenecks on NH 24 have, thus far, been a deterrent. Now, it will change,” he maintains.
Opportunities for buyers and developers
Developers are obviously sensing big business opportunities in the region. Nikhil Hawelia, managing director of the Hawelia Group, asserts that once the process to decongest NH 24 is over, it will give a new lifeline to the property markets of Noida, Noida Extension, Indirapuram, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad and Crossings Republik. “As early as 2006, Newsweek magazine had rated Ghaziabad among the top 10 global destinations. However, the traffic bottlenecks on NH 24, killed the potential of the region. Widening of NH 24 will bring the region back in the contention, to emerge as a global destination. The kind of land parcels that are yet to be explored in this stretch, makes its case very strong,” says Hawelia.
Urban planning experts believe that NH 24 is certainly a better destination than the other NCR locations because it is equidistant from east, north, south and central Delhi. It is especially beneficial for the residents of Ghaziabad, Noida and Delhi. Moreover, the apartments in this region are available at affordable prices and thus, hold great potential for appreciation, with the widening of the highway and other infrastructure developments.
Wider highway, better real estate prospects
- NH 24 to be widened to 14 lanes.
- The 14-lane NH 24, is likely to provide a fillip to property markets of Delhi-NCR and up to Meerut.
- Connectivity of locations along the NH 24 with Delhi, to improve drastically.
- Many unlocked land parcels along NH 24 may turn into property hotspots.
(The writer is CEO, Track2Realty)
Ravi Sinha is a journalist with nearly two decades of cross-discipline media exposure. He is the CEO of real estate think-tank group Track2Realty. He has been writing extensively on the real estate sector for nearly a decade. Evaluation of real estate brand performance is his expertise and he has immense insight into consumers’ psychograph in the property market.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ravitrack2media
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