New City Along Yamuna Expressway [6th Aug 2011, The Times of India]

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA or YEA) has several plans in the pipeline to develop a city along the zone.The YEA has identified a ribbon development along the Yamuna Expressway to promote Special Development Zones for industry,IT,bio-tech,institutions,sports,recreation and service sector to develop this city into a world-class location.A number of proposals have already been approved and investors and developers are moving towards this emerging city to cash in upon the opportunity.S K DWIVEDI,the chief executive officer of YEA,talks to A K TIWARY regarding the plan to develop a city parallel to the Yamuna Expressway.

 

Yamuna Expressway is spread over more than 2.30 lakh hectares (Greater Noida to Agra).Out of this,50,000 hectares (up to Jewar) are being developed.So far,177 villages between the Yamuna and the G T Road have been notified for development,which will be done in three phases.In Phase I,out of 50,000 hectares,more than 6,000 hectares have been acquired.Out of this,2500 hectares have been earmarked for residential areas,that is Sectors 18 and 20,where the authority has allotted 21,000 residential plots in varied sizes whose possession will be given by 2013.In addition,1000 hectares has been allocated for Special Development Zone (SDZ) where a world-class sports city is being developed.The Taj International Airport and Aviation Hub and SDZs are proposed along the alignment adjacent to Greater Noida.The prospects of this zone are very bright.

 

The Yamuna Expressway Zone has a lot of potential to emerge as the preferred destination for thousands of families who wish to move out of the NCR cities but take advantage of a metropolitan infrastructure.YEA is committed to providing all these essential facilities.The area has several territorial advantages like the proposed international airport near Jewar,a Night Safari,Formula 1 race track and international quality infrastructure for the whole area.We are offering a lot of incentives like the lowest land rate in the NCR,possession on upfront payment of only 10% to 20% of the premium;also,easy payment plan with a three-year moratorium option and payment plan in 10 years,special incentives in the form of exemption of stamp duty,etc,to encourage the setting up of worldclass educational hubs.

The YEA has launched a mega residential plot scheme comprising 21,000 plots to encourage residential development.The plots come in several sizes and the whole development is over an area of approximately 2,500 hectares along the Yamuna Expressway in Sector 18 and 20,about 17km from Pari Chowk.The scheme was oversubscribed in spite of the worldwide recession.In addition,the YEA has allotted two residential township plots,approximately 100 acres each,which will be developed by builders in the form of plots or flats,apart from creating all the infrastructure facilities within the township to facilitate the homebuyers.The authority has also allotted plots for establishment of universities,colleges,institutions,etc,in the vicinity of the Gautam Budh University.

The Yamuna Expressway project has become the flagbearer among Uttar Pradesh's infrastructure projects,particularly expressway projects,which are being implemented as on date.The Yamuna Expressway project is being developed by Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) and envisages the construction of a concrete pavement expressway between Greater Noida and Agra.The cost of the project is around Rs 10,000 crores,half of which has already been spent.JIL has a 36-year concession and the right to develop an estimated 30,000 acres along the route.It plans to build eight townships covering a mammoth 3.3 billion square feet.The expressway project is almost complete and is expected to be operational by December 2011.The Yamuna Expressway is poised to be a growth engine for the all-round economic and industrial growth of western Uttar Pradesh;it is expected to impact the lives of nearly 3 crore people.

 

What is the authority doing to improve the availability of basic amenities like power and water? 

We are planning to provide adequate power supply and for this,a survey is being done.According to the detailed project report (DPR),the power demand here will rise to 6,000MW by 2036 and we will build a captive power plant for this purpose.A satellite survey of the area has already been conducted under the supervision of consultancy companies.Work on internal roads connecting to the developing residential Sectors 18 and 20 are almost complete.Our aim is to offer an uncongested and pollution-free environment with worldclass facilities.

 

Right now,the authority does not have any dispute with farmers.The court has already cleared the 165km six-lane Yamuna Expressway from Greater Noida to Mathura and dismissed several writ petitions filed against the project.The petitioners had filed cases challenging the notification issued under Sections 4,6,17 (1) (4) of the Land Acquisition Act.A hefty compensation has been given to the farmers.The authority has already acquired land up to Jewar and handed it over to the development authority.Nearly 1,000 hectares has been allotted to JP and Associates for the sports city.We expect the sports city to be ready to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix in October.

Now that the market is slowing down again,will low prices hit development of the Yamuna Expressway Zone 

The recession is almost over and we are getting a good response from buyers.Nearly 44,000 hectares will be developed up to 37km from Greater Noida.The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) officials are also monitoring the projects,  in addition to their duties.After the recession,we sold two plots,each 100 hectares,for developing integrated townships.The YEA had sold 16 institutional plots,50 to 150 acres in size,for the educational hub.Builders are trying to cash in upon opportunities by coming with their own projects.

 

According to the master plan,out of the 50,000 hectares earmarked for development in Phase I,35-40 % of the area will be developed for industries,IT-services,institutions,warehousing,transportation,sports,etc.While remaining area,except the green area,is being developed for supporting sectors like commercial,retail and residential.

The construction of Taj International Airport and Aviation Hub will create enormous opportunities for multinationals and various international agencies to invest in this zone.We are according the highest priority to the project and are coordinating with the central government for speedy approvals for all the necessary project-related activities.

AIRPORT IN JEWAR 

The Taj International Airport (TIA) will come up in Jewar in Uttar Pradesh.It is designed to serve the people of Uttar Pradesh and eastern Haryana.It will also be used to export flowers and other agricultural produce from the Taj Special Economic Zone to markets in the Middle East and Europe.This is a prime location owing to its proximity to India's most popular tourist destination,the Taj Mahal (the airport also gets its name from this fact) and the connectivity to the national capital,which is only on a 45-minute drive from Greater Noida.The Uttar Pradesh government has already urged the Centre for early clearance to the proposed international airport in Jewar (on 10,000 hectares).It will be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.While project is pending before the Union civil aviation ministry for long,once built,the TIA will decongest the IGI airport.The six-lane Yamuna Expressway from Greater Noida to Agra will also traverse through Jewar.Besides,the TIA could well be among the three new airports,as part of the early-bird projects,under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).

The state government has stressed that once the airport is built,it would provide multi-modal connectivity to the entire region,which would go a long way in facilitating import-export activities;it pointed to the proximity of the Jewar airport to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor to buttress its point.With the Delhi Metro being extended to Noida,the issue of the Taj Airport and Aviation Hub at Jewar has once again become a topical issue and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister has,on many occasions,written to the Centre for clearing the proposal so that the region acts as a growth engine for the state,according to sources.The UP government has conveyed its willingness to accept and abide by all the contractual agreements that have been entered into by the government of India,ministry of civil aviation with the GMR group,promoters of Indira Gandhi International Airport,sources said.They also said that the construction of another airport near the IGI will not hamper traffic flow at IGI.

According to a technical economicfeasibility study commissioned by the state government,if the Jewar airport is built,the number of passengers per year in the NCR region in 2012 would be 103 million,out of which 91 million will be DIAL's and 12 million Jewar airport's share.Similarly,by the year 2021,the annual passenger traffic will swell to 161 million,out of which 25 million will go to Jewar while 136 million will go DIAL's way.This is way beyond DIAL's assumption of 100 million passengers per year.The traffic is expected to grow beyond all expectations and to ease the traffic congestion;there is an urgent need to develop another airport on the lines of second airports in all important cities of the world.