Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors gearing Noida up for industrial revival

With the upcoming Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors (WDFC & EDFC), the Uttar Pradesh government is all geared up to cash the enormous potential the industrial developments will bring along. The government of India and World Bank have signed a $650 million agreement for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Project. The corridors are expected to bring in huge investments in Noida and the surrounding areas as the upcoming projects will impact the local economy in a big way. 

The government officials in a lot of media interactions have shared, "Industrial clusters in UP are emerging as next growth frontier with large consumer base, rapidly improving infrastructure, abundant manpower, large base of MSMEs, and reform-oriented proactive governance." Also, “The four lane of district headquarter roads, augmentation of power generation from 10,000 MW to 23,000 MW, upcoming semi-conductor FAB unit with direct investment of Rs 26,000crore in Greater Noida, rolling out of 4G network along with close to 46 lakh.”

For the project the land acquisition is in advanced stage and a lot is in pipeline for the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). They include Integrated Hi-Tech Industrial Township and Multi-model Logistic Hub at Greater Noida, Boraki Multi-modal Transport Hub and Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region. With a lot of focus on sustainable and eco-friendly Real Estate, initiatives are being taken to encourage the use of solar energy. Resources have shared that bids have been invited for 300 MW solar power plants, open to everybody with experience in infrastructure projects.

Noida is now being looked as a major hub for industrial investments. There are industry-friendly facilities which are being proposed and a lot of them are already under development which include metro, rail, power distribution system, improvement in security and other civic facilities.  The companies who have explored the opportunities and possibilities of investment look quite happy and satisfied over the developments being planned and executed. Noida will be soon seeing some major companies shifting their base here, all thanks to the developments taking place.

Sharing the benefits of these development to the economy, statistics state that big corporate generates more than 3000 jobs and a revenue of somewhere between Rs 600-700 crore. With more and more development, the number of these corporates’ setting base here will increase and it will surely put the derailed Noida economy back on track. From a real estate and infrastructure perspective, this initiative will benefit the industrial and logistics real estate segment.

While it will impact a lot of cities across India, a major benefit will be expanding the development, infrastructure, manufacturing, industrial and other sectors along its nodes. The home buyers will be benefited in numerous ways. Such developments have always promised benefits for the real estate market in the area. It will provide a huge potential for employment, exports and industrial output. With vision of India becoming a global manufacturing and trading hub, the project will have major effect on infrastructure expansion.

Studies have indicated that the implementation such initiatives has a rub-off effect on the smaller urban centres in proximity to the planned nodes. Going forward, Noida and other cities are expected to grow at a faster rate than the present-day major urban centres. Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, a railway freight line that will cover a distance of 1,483 kms is a crucial part of project like DMIC. While combined they will be creating more than 3 million jobs, which is a win situation for home buyers. Not only homes will become affordable, but also near to the project’s vicinity. Noida is soon going to be a top investment destination, opening opportunities for investors. DMIC will be a major catalyst for the manufacturing and infrastructure sector around the region. Integrated townships are already underway in anticipation because of the heavy commercial activity around it.

The Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor and the western and eastern dedicated freight corridors are gaining renewed focus, giving a fillip to the warehousing sector. In fact, demand for warehousing is set to outshine that of office space in the next two years. Experts say that the annual demand for warehousing is expected to overtake the office real estate. From 250 million sq ft now it is expected to touch 400 million sq ft by 2020.  The western and eastern dedicated freight corridors will take up as the central locations and companies would like to set up warehouses here as the transportation and logistics costs will be low.  Though the current market of Real Estate has not been very positive, the freight corridors are expected to make the market once again attractive.