Mumbai: The under-construction Mumbai Trans Harbour Sea Link (MTHL) will make Mumbai ‘slum-free’, or at least help reduce slums to a large extent, believe real estate developers. They said that this project will connect south Mumbai to Navi Mumbai and Raigad, where affordable housing is booming at present.
Leading developers spoke about ‘Affordable City: Mumbai 3.0’ at an event of NAREDCO organised at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Thursday.
Niranjan Hiranandani said that 24 upcoming infrastructure projects like the MTHL, Extension of MTHL up to Mumbai Pune Expressway, Versova Bandra coastal road, and Goregaon Mulund Link, among others, scheduled to be ready in the next 24 months, will be the story of growth of infrastructure projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
He asserted that government authorities like the MMRDA should come up with magnet areas with pharma development in one region and education in another. These, he said, will accelerate development in MMR.
Gautam Thacker said that MMR was conceptualised long ago but will now take shape with unique public infrastructure. “The city has space constraints, so it’s critical to develop it to meet that criteria, besides providing facilities with affordable housing.” He said the Mumbai 3.0 blueprint on that front is promising; it provides early-mover advantage of affordable luxury housing, along with well-connected infrastructure facilities.
Developers said that the mega infrastructure – Navi Mumbai International Airport, local railway connectivity via the Panvel-Karjat line, among others –will be game changers for properties in the region.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, SVR Srinivas said that the MTHL project would be completed by the end of next year, after which the city will no longer be known as island city.
He said, “At the moment, travelling from Malabar Hill to BKC takes over 45 minutes. Once MTHL is operational, commuting even to Navi Mumbai will happen in 20 minutes. This would lead to a similar boom in these districts as well.” He added that connectivity is the key for affordable housing and places like Neral-Karjat will be the key points of explosive growth.
Rajan Bandelkar, president of NAREDCO India said, “With the launch of Mumbai 3.0, the region will experience rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. The government is also investing in infrastructure in the Neral-Karjat belt, which in turn is contributing significantly to the region’s overall residential and commercial growth.”
