How Will Metro Impact Mumbai’s Realty?
The Mumbai metro finally became operational on 8th June, after eight years of laying the foundation for the alternate mass rapid transit system (MRTS). The metro line that covers 11.4 km will connect the north-eastern and the western suburbs of the city. While there is still a debate between the state government and Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL), the special purpose vehicle formed to build the Mumbai metro over the ticket pricing, the metro will undoubtedly become a game-changer for Mumbai’s realty.
Areas covered by Mumbai metro
The first line of the metro is part of the first phase of Mumbai metro. It connects the north-eastern locality of Ghatkopar to Versova and Andheri in the west. It has 10 stations between the Ghatkopar and Versova stations, covering areas such as Chakala, Andheri, Azad Nagar, Sakinaka, Airport Road and Western Express Highway (WEH). The metro reduces the transit time between Versova and Ghatkopar from the present 90 minutes to a mere 21 minutes. Apart from this, the metro boosts the connectivity between the eastern and western suburbs.
Metro to boost Mumbai realty
The impact of the Mumbai metro was witnessed long before it was operational. The last eight years saw an appreciation of about 400 per cent in capital values in the areas that would be connected through the metro line. This is due to the increased interest from developers to develop projects around the metro since the beginning of the construction. The proximity to a metro station itself has known to alter the premium of a project up to 22 per cent.
The east-west connectivity is further expected to boost the prices in the eastern suburbs. The prices in suburbs such as Chembur and Wadala have already gone up due to the monorail. The overall combination of road networks such as Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR), Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR), Mumbai monorail and the metro are expected reduce the transit time between the eastern and western suburbs and hence, boost the capital values.
On a long-term basis, if the proposal of providing an FSI of 4 in areas around the metro is approved, it will have additional value capture, for both commercial as well as residential projects in these localities.
