In the latest development announcement, the Centre has decided to extend the Chennai- Benagaluru industrial corridor to Coimbatore and Kochi as part of the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT).
The proposed Industrial Corridor will start at Hoskote in Bengaluru and would end in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. The 268km stretch will facilitate high-speed travel and will carrying the highest amount of traffic, projected at 45,000 to 60,000 units a day. The proposed road will be built in five sections of Bengaluru-Kolar, Kolar-Palamaner, Palamaner-Chittoor, Chittoor-Kanchipuram and Kanchipuram-Chennai. According to the NHAI note, there would be 60 major bridges, 97 minor bridges, four road over bridges at railway crossings, nine flyovers and three elephant passes, among other structures. Since the road passes through seven km of the Royal Elephant Reserve in Andhra Pradesh, and about 300 metres of the Mahimandalam forest in Vellore district, the subways would be constructed for the vehicles.
With the proposed extension there is a push from the Kerala government to acquire 1,800 acres of land in the Thrissur-Palakkad region to set up manufacturing units. This is poised to become a major manufacturing hub in the south once the corridor work is completed. The corridor will also help the Erode-Tirupur-Coimbatore manufacturing belt. Land prices have been steadily growing in the area and will now see a big boost. The industries have also started expanding beyond textiles and automobiles into IT and health care sectors. There are also talks of creating a knowledge hub in the Coimbatore region.
Once the Chennai-Bengaluru stretch is completed, it will offer a connection to the Krishnapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh through another set of elevated road developments that are already underway.
Impact on Real Estate
There will be rise in demand for housing along the corridor area as manufacturing units set up shop. The major areas that will see a high growth along the Bengaluru-Chennai corridor are Panniyur, Walajapet, Banavaram and Keezhveernam, as Japanese firms are already focussing their investments along these stretches. The demand for affordable housing is heavier on this stretch and starting from Sriperumbudur area there is a growing demand for 1BHK and 2BHK homes. There are many plotted area projects that are gaining popularity along this route as well.
The land banks are currently not in place and the government is under the process of acquisition to start the project. The region will also have several special economic zones and clusters of manufacturing companies. This will allow housing and commercial real estate to develop as most of the nearby regions are small towns without expansion social infrastructure, thus giving real estate companies the opportunity to develop townships.
The overall air is positive for the development of these corridors as they are expected to provide a boost to the existing industries and also bring in new investments into the region.
