Nagpur - Maharashtra’s second capital is a sprawling hub for medium to heavy industry and the IT, ITes and the BPO sector. Centrally located on the zero milestone, with abundant land at affordable rates, industry, including IT, is showing a preference for Nagpur. This works to the advantage of the workforce as well, which enjoys the more relaxed lifestyle that Nagpur has to offer.Further to the large facilities set up by Satyam, TCS, Hexaware, Wipro and Lambent, the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) coming up in Nagpur will host, among other aviation companies, Boeing’s USD 100 million maintenance, repair and overhaul base for Asia.

The establishment will include health, educational and recreational facilities in its fold. Along with the Rs.7,000 crore Multimodal International Hub and Airport for Nagpur (MIHAN), this project is expected to infuse the city with a host of employment opportunities. Spread over 3310 hectares, the MIHAN project will utilize 1200 hectares exclusively for the airport.

Real Estate Projects in Nagpur

Property developers in Nagpur are gearing up to meet the growing requirement for commercial and residential spaces. Real estate in Nagpur is pulsating with brisk buying and construction activity, surpassing all projections by real estate analysts. The buoyancy has come in the wake of the MIHAN project, and has sent property rates in Nagpur shooting up to almost 500% in 2006. The surge in prices has also been attributed to the NRI investors who see Nagpur as a promising Tier II city. The real estate boom has employed almost 1 lakh people in the last 2 years.

Residential Property in Nagpur

Nagpur is fast expanding on its north-west, north-east and southern fringes. Civil Lines remains the city’s premium residential neighbourhood, fetching rates in the range of Rs. 3500 per sq. ft. Properties in Ramdaspeth, Dhantoli, Dharam Peth and Shankar Nagar command similar rates. Colonies like Vardhaman Nagar, Pratap Nagar and Surendra Nagar are also sought after where residential property rates range between Rs. 1200 to Rs. 2000 per sq. ft.

The National Textile Corporation has offloaded defunct properties into the Nagpur real estate in the recent past, such as the 1.49 acre Model Mills property on the Main Umrer Road. The Tata‘s Empress Mills property sale to KSL and Industries has led to an investment of Rs. 400 crore to develop an integrated township. “Empress City” on 25 acres has a provision for a 400 room 5-star hotel, shopping mall, multiplexes and 600 luxury apartments sized in the range of 1000 to 1,500 square feet area. The project, led by the Tayals Group, is expected to be ready for occupation by December 2007. Rates hover around Rs. 4125 per sq. ft. at the Empress City. Large tracts of land are being bought by a host of private builders in Nagpur to develop township projects, such as the Satyam Group and the Sahara Group. Residential apartment projects include the Pioneer Regency. Locally active builders in the city are Hindustan Builders, Nikunj Builders (P) Ltd, Roshni Developers and Shewalkar Developers Ltd.

Commercial Property in Nagpur

The logistics park coming up on NH 7 has attracted investment in real estate in Nagpur in multiples of the original investment on the city side of the highway. The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) is selling land at Rs. 80 lakh an acre, but in the newer parts of the city, land rates touch Rs. 2 crore per acre. Currently, 0.8 million sq. ft of commercial space has been created, and the absorption rate hovers around 50 to 60%.

The city’s shopping needs are met by markets in Sitabuldi, Sadar, Central Avenue, and Gandhi Baug. Dharampeth and Itwari have emerged as a popular alternative. The total area covered by shopping malls in Nagpur is currently around 1.8 million sq.ft. INOX at the Poonam Mall in Wardhman Nagar initiated the multiplex to the city. The Goel Ganga Group has an upcoming shopping mall in Sitabuldi on 10 lakh sq. ft with a hotel, recreation centre and multiplex theatres built in.

6 new shopping malls in Nagpur will come up by 2008-09 at an investment of Rs 1000 crore. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation has allocated unused land to infrastructure development companies for a 20 year lease of Rs. 545 crore. BSEL Infrastructure Realty and Unity Infraprojects have bagged the projects. These malls would be located in Netaji Market and Water Works Department in Sitabuldi, Gokulpeth Market and Grain market in Wardhman Nagar, Jaripatka and Pachpoli Flyover near Kamal Square. Some of the recently built notable landmarks are MHKS Mall at Chaoni, Mangalam Marvel at W.H.C. Road, The Triangle at Kingsway and Inland at Central Avenue.

The hospitality segment too would get a fillip with the setting up of the Taj hotel in Santra Market, the Radisson on Wardha Road, and the Kamath’s in Khapri. In the old neighbourhoods of the city, the scope for construction is limited, but the trend of stretching towards the north-west and southerly direction has been noticed, especially further down Butiburi industrial estate towards Hingna.

Nagpur has the latent to become India’s fastest growing cosmopolitan city and probably a world city once the MIHAN project is complete.