Buddh International Circuit – India’s first and only Formula One track – brought the Yamuna Expressway in limelight and real-estate investors as well as end-users directed their investments to the area in droves. But with the real-estate sector remaining stagnant over the years, the focus of homebuyers shifted to conventional residential areas along the Noida Expressway.
The development story changed after November 29 last year, when Zurich Airport emerged as the highest bidder – Rs 400 per passenger – to develop the Jewar Airport, outbidding competitors like Adani Enterprises, DIAL and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holding. It received the security clearance from the Union ministry of home affairs to develop the airport at Jewar in May this year.
On October 7, the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) and Zurich Airport International AG signed a key agreement that would allow the Swiss developer to begin work at the site of the upcoming Jewar airport near Delhi. The ‘concession agreement’ for the Greenfield airport, estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore, was inked between the Uttar Pradesh government’s agency and the Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a special purpose vehicle floated by the Zurich Airport for the project.
The concession agreement grants Zurich Airport International the licence to design, build and operate Noida International Airport for a period of 40 years. The airport is being built on the public-private partnership (PPP) model and is billed to be the biggest in India upon completion. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2024. Land for the first phase has been acquired by the district administration from six villages of Rohi, Parohi, Banwari Bans, Dayantpur, Kishorepur and Ranhera in Jewar tehsil under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013.
WHY CONSIDER YAMUNA EXPRESSWAY?
Buddh International Circuit, which is a motor racing circuit and a well-known landmark in the micro-market, may sooner or later become a global name in the sports industry.
The proposed film city at Sector 21 of Yamuna Expressway, about 5 km from Jewar Airport, would bring a good positive momentum to residential as well as commercial developments in the region.
Open spaces and greenery is among the USPs of this stretch.
Another positive is that the stretch is expected to emerge as the largest employment hub in Uttar Pradesh as several large projects are in the pipeline. And of course, one does not need to bother about connectivity with places like Delhi and Noida.
For those who are not familiar with the geography, the six-lane (extendable to eight lanes) Yamuna Expressway is a 165 km-long connector between Delhi and Agra. The access-controlled expressway is planned to have five LFDs (land of concessionaire) with facilities of four toll plazas, and six interchanges along the entire length. Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) notified area covers about 2,689 sq. km. falling in six districts to be developed in two phases.
The Yamuna Expressway comprises several developing localities such as sectors 17A, 17B, 19, 22A, 22B, 22C, 22D, 25, and 26A. The stretch mainly has underconstruction residential projects, presenting a good mix of multi-storey flats, villas and plotted developments.
Recently, the YEIDA launched a one-time-settlement (OTS) scheme under which allottees who had been given land along the expressway but defaulted on payments, could pay the amount online. Reports suggest allottees are expected to get benefits in the range of 25 per cent to 40 per cent. YEIDA has more than 30,000 individual allottees at present.
PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE OR CONNECTIVITY
The nearest metro station is Knowledge Park II or Pari Chowk metro station on the Aqua line, at the mouth of the Yamuna Expressway. Bus service and shared taxis are also available.
The areas along the expressway promise to have excellent connectivity with ‘the Golden Quadrilateral, Ganga Expressway, RRTS, Western DFC, Upper Ganga Canal Expressway, Dasna-Meerut Expressway, Eastern DFC, North-South corridor, peripheral ring road, and Agra Kanpur expressway’.
One of the major existing power sources in the region is NTPC, Dadri Coal and Gas-based power plant, as per the YEIDA website. It is to be noted here that Yamuna Power Generation Company has been created to address the power supply demand of the YEIDA Region.
The area has adequate water sources as the Yamuna basin has three important rivers – Yamuna, Hindon and Kali. Yamuna and Hindon River carries huge volumes of unused flood water which can be explored as a source of water in the region by building reservoirs, YEIDA said.
Besides, there is a network of canals passing through the area.
SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
People living in the area are dependent on Pari Chowk in Greater Noida for their shopping requirements. For other basic needs, like schools, colleges, malls, restaurants, hospitals, and malls, residents are currently dependent on the more developed sectors of Greater Noida.
The best part of this micro-market is that about 22 per cent area under YEIDA is reserved for greens. As per the land use category (Master Plan 2031), the residential area will be spread over 19.5 per cent and commercial occupying 5.4 per cent. About 28 per cent of the area has been earmarked for industrial and institutional zone.
Major developers in the area include, ATS Infrastructure, Godrej, Skyline, Lotus Greens, Gaurs Group, Jaypee Group, and Ajnara Group.
Employment opportunities: The Yamuna Authority has planned a Film City, a logistics park, Toy Park and Heritage City along the Yamuna Expressway. The recent approval to a 700-acre electronic city project near Jewar airport is expected to become a major centre for employment.
There are business and IT parks, including Stellar Business Park, Cosmic Corporate Park, NIIT Technologies Campus, and World Trade Centre, in the proximity. One can easily drive to commercial areas in Greater Noida and also along Greater Noida Expressway, Noida Special Economic Zone and Noida Phase-2.
It would also be easy to commute to the proposed logistic hub in Noida.
The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has decided to change the layout of the proposed Film City to be developed across 1,000 acres in Sector 21 along the Yamuna Expressway.
Last month, the Union government gave in-principle approval for a medical device park proposed to come up near the Noida International Airport, Jewar.
REAL ESTATE PRICES
Like any other micro-market in the country, the prices here depend on the location, size and type of property one is looking for. Brokers active in the area say that property prices are considerably lower compared to similar properties located along the Noida Expressway.
Plots at Gaur Waterfront Plots 1st-B Parkview cost Rs 40 lakh onwards, while villas and residential plots at Krishna Vilas are available for Rs 1.46 crore, and Rs 56.50 lakh onwards, respectively.
