Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the first “Integrated Township Project” at Panvel, near Mumbai, of the Wadhwa Group named “Wadhwa Wise City” – an affordable housing megaproject — under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY) Urban Scheme. The project, which is situated in NAINA (Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area), will provide 5,500 affordable homes alongside creating 2.5 lakh related jobs, and has witnessed massive response with 900 units being sold in the pre-launch Phase I itself.
Fadnavis said that the Maharashtra Government, as part of its mission of “Housing for All,” is aggressively working towards fulfilling its target of providing 10 lakh affordable houses in Mumbai Metropolitan Region by 2022 – and the Wadhwa Housing project is one of the developers helping in promoting the Government’s efforts. “I met the CEO of the World Bank in the USA and submitted a proposal which was approved. The Wadhwa Group’s Affordable Housing Project at Panvel will help decongest Mumbai, and I hope we get more such developers for providing affordable housing,” he added.
Noting that the Group has entered into a “JDA’ with the “Valuable Properties Pvt Ltd” — a subsidiary of the Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) – and is planning to develop 138 acres out of its 450 acres area, Vijay Wadhwa, Chairman, Wadhwa Group, said that with all Phase I clearances completed including environmental and the mandatory Maha Rera, the project will offer Efficient Studio, 1, 2 and 3 BHK apartments — whose present 900 buyers included first-time home buyers and 70-80% salaried class being under 40 years of age and applying for home loan.”
“Connectivity is the ‘brand ambassador’ for this project — where Panvel offers excellent railroad connectivity to main city Mumbai, besides also being the “Gateway” to the Konkan Coast region and easing commute to other states in India. However, infrastructure developments like the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, Virar Alibaug Multi-Modal Corridor etc are the factors driving demand for residential and commercial real estate in this ‘New Growth Corridor,” Wadhwa said, adding that recent studies highlighted the huge need for affordable housing across metro cities to meet the needs of the large influx of people coming in search of jobs and better livelihood.
Navin Makhija, Managing Director, Wadhwa Group, said that Panvel, as the most advanced infrastructure hub of India, was set to highlight itself as India’s classic example of an affordable housing hub – with the Government’s added focus on the region.
Gurudatta Deshmukh, Vice-President, Wadhwa Group, told this correspondent that the project will be constructed in various Phases with the first Phase set for completion in about four years, and the total project in about 8-9 years. With 100+ ‘Iconic’ projects under its belt, the Group’s search for diversification had led it into the ‘Affordable Housing’ segment that has been caused by demographic changes, he said adding “This is the largest such project by the private sector in India, and also the first Integrated Township of its kind.”
Priyansh Kapoor, Head-Sales and Marketing , said the prices of the Project units included: Executive Studio (Rs 25 lakhs), One-BHK (Rs 34 lakhs), 2-BHK (Rs 46 lakhs) and 3-BHK (Rs 57 Lakhs), and 900 flats had been sold in the Pre-Launch Phase I in barely 15 days. Representatives of the Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House were also present at the press conference.
