Temple city Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Orissa, is one of the few top Tier-II cities in the country which has been witnessing a rapid growth in recent years. With a population of 1.4 million, the city has now become happy hunting ground for leading information technology (IT) players, educational entrepreneurs, hospital and healthcare firms, hotel industries.
Besides, corporate houses, both global and national, have also found the city an alluring place to set up their regional offices here.
Non-Resident Oriyas also think it worth investing in the city in the shape buying landed properties.
And realising this dynamic changes and development, top real estate developers of the country have made a beeline here to have their share of the pie.
A recent study by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) reveals that the state attracted large volume of foreign investments, including the `52,000 crore Posco India project, in recent years. According to an estimate, over the past decade, Orissa has received investments of around `12 lakh crore. This reflects the opportunities that the future holds for the state.
Bhubaneswar is growing faster than other cities in the country and it projected that by 2025, the population of the city will touch the 25 lakh mark. This roughly means that on an average 35,000 houses need to be built annually to accommodate the growing population.
Given this and other factors, the demand for housing in the state is going to rise up further. Already the spacious suburbs around the city mostly along Khurda, Nandankanan, Cuttack and Choudwar — are on expansion mode.
“We are now witnessing a trend where people are relocating to spacious suburban areas in pursuit of a better quality of life, much like the way Americans populated the suburbs way back in mid 1940s. As a contrast to the centrally located but congested prime locations, suburban location today offers greener and healthier environment, abundant open spaces, emergence of luxury gated communities, like-minded communities and shopping centres,” says Mr Brotin Banerjee, CEO and MD Tata Housing.
More and more people are feeling claustrophobic in the ever-growing commercial humdrum in the neighbourhood and the absence of open spaces. Prohibitive property prices within the city also contribute to the population rise in the suburbs.
As the family grows and jostles for space and privacy, moving into a more spacious home in the suburbs has emerged as a solution for many city-dwellers, says D.S. Tripathy, president of Orissa chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developer Associations of India.
The suburban areas offer larger facilities, open spaces and are within driving distance from the workplace, thus bringing together convenience and comfort at affordable costs, he adds. There is now a rising demand in Bhubaneswar for gated communities of Gurgaon, kothis of Noida, and farm houses of Faridabad. In keeping with these requirements, there are several ongoing and upcoming projects along the NH -5.
With most of the renowned national realty developers, including Assotech and DLF Ltd and Tata Housing, foraying into this market, Bhubaneswar is set to become the residential hub. Many of them have signed an agreement with the Bhubaneswar Development Authority for execution of projects on public-private partnerships.