New Delhi, Aug. 30 -- At the 17th National Convention of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu announced that the Centre is working on a framework to amplify real estate activities around upcoming airports, with the intention of raising sectoral growth to 15 per cent. "Airports generate huge footfalls not only for recreation but also for diverse economic activities in and around their vicinity," the minister said, adding that a study is underway to draw cues from models in New York, London and Hong Kong. The govt's vision includes convention centres, hotels, and commercial hubs near new greenfield airports, replicating the economies of scale witnessed in leading global hubs. With 88 airports already operationalised and hundreds more in the pipeline. the plan, he suggested, is to ensure airports are not mere transit points but nodes of urban economic activity.
The minister also made a pointed appeal to developers: "Since I come from the state of Andhra Pradesh, I would like the Members of NAREDCO to proactively come forward to build the new capital, Amravati, which will be a huge smart city with world-class facilities." Reinforcing the linkage between real estate and national priorities, Kuldip Narayan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, urged developers to expand their housing output tenfold from 4-5 lakh units annually to 40-50 lakh units. Financing, he said, should be channelled through institutional mechanisms such as REITs and HUDCO, with particular emphasis on affordable housing. The convention also spotlighted regional planning. Rajat Gosain, Group GM (Planning), NCRTC, disclosed that a zonal and regional Master Plan for housing projects is being developed along the 82-km Delhi-Meerut Metro corridor. With the consent of local bodies in Ghaziabad, Modi Nagar, and Meerut, the plan envisions the integration of residential and commercial colonies with transit stations, a move expected to transform the urban fabric of western Uttar Pradesh.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.