New Town remains the most strategically planned urban development of Kolkata and the recent announcement of the e-auction by HIDCO supports the perspective of further growth. As close to 20 acres of land is open to residential, commercial, and mixed-use development, the township is at the next stage of expansion, which conforms to the smart-city goals of the government. The reason behind the increasing investor interest in New Town has been its closeness to IT parks, high-end housing and clusters, metro coverage, and future airport access enhancements. The new auction will provide the developers with a chance to enter a market that has stood long-run appreciation and high end-user demand.
The e-auction is comprised of plots located in Action Areas II and III which are the two areas where infrastructure delivery has been at a high rate. The educational hubs, healthcare facilities, business parks and gated communities in Action Area II have a high absorption rate among working professionals. The growth arc of Action Area III is more modern yet also has even more potential as roads continue to be developed, green spaces are being planned, and the demand in the mid-segment housing is increasing. The fact that freehold plots are being opened, and not just leasehold options, also reflects a transition towards less tumultuous investment cycles and more open ownership patterns.
To buyers and investors, the auction would be a first hand signal of confidence in long term real-estate pattern of Kolkata. New town has potential of expansion in a structured manner, unlike most of the metros whereby land scarcity dictates the rate at which development can be achieved. Under the HIDCO guidelines on the urban planning, the area has not experienced uncontrolled construction, and zoning has been kept in check, which has helped the area to achieve a superior environment among the developers and end-users. This controlled growth pattern has seen New Town become one of the few Bengal markets whereby the absorption of houses and commercials are in synchrony.
The e- auction will also attract high interest of the IT-related developers, retail groups, and institutional investors intending to expand the operation in the eastern part of India. Considering this stable pattern in office lease in Sector V and New town, co-working models and commercial complexes may be of increased interest. In the meantime, there is still an increasing demand in the high-end gated communities, apartments with services, and retail clusters of mixed use, due to the constant influx of working populations.
The move by HIDCO is timely given that Bengal is currently repositioning itself as a competitive market in real-estates and infrastructure. As the metro connectivity penetrates more into the eastern corridors and continuous upgrades of connectivity around airports, the relevance of New Town is likely to increase further in the next 10 years. The auction is not just a land release process, but an indicator of confidence, organised planning and a desire to make Kolkata an efficient urban zone in which people and businesses will live and operate in the future.
