The Hindu Business Line : `Chennai heading for acute housing shortage'

Where it hurts
Many developers have increased the launch price by almost Rs 500 per sq.ft.
Public transport is inadequate and most companies plan to transport their employees to these locations themselves.
Water is another resource that will have to be managed better,

A MULTI-STOREYED BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Chennai , April 2

As the developed world looks to relocate some of its business processes to Chennai, the city is heading for an acute housing shortage and civic infrastructure crunch.

Towards the end of 2005, Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot) reported that 63 IT parks, over 22.9 million sq.ft., were under construction and 17 had been completed making available three million sq.ft. space. This year more parks are being planned.

According to Mr G.R.K. Reddy, Managing Director, Marg Constructions Ltd, going by the industry norm for IT space, one person for every 100 sq.ft., about two lakh people would be employed in these buildings. Even if a third of them decide to buy dwelling units it would mean a demand of 60,000 dwelling units a year, he said.

But the supply is nowhere near that mark. Only 3,000-4000 dwelling units are coming into the market every year, he says.

According to a survey of residential projects by Trammell Crow Meghraj, international property consultants, there are about 118 new housing projects in the city.

Mr N. Ananthanarayanan, Associate Director, Trammell Crow Meghraj, said the prices have shot up.

The residential rates in Sholinganallur, about 20 km south of Chennai, are Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 per sq.ft. up from Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 a sq.ft. last year. In areas like Alwarpet and Adyar, in the heart of the city, prices are about Rs 4,000 a sq.ft.

With large-scale development happening, the city's infrastructure, which is stretched, will be further strained.

For instance, 29 of the IT parks developed on the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), the IT corridor, are before Sholinganallur. Nine are completed and industry watchers point out that once all become operational the OMR would be very congested.

A developer said that unless public transport improves drastically, the situation would be chaotic.

Developers said that IT parks have 24x7 power requirements and with all the development, this would also be under stress.

Water is another resource that will have to be managed better, industry sources said. Water requirements would be immense — about 50 litres per person in a commercial complex.

Mr Reddy said that most of the new developments have gone in for a reverse osmosis plant to recycle wastewater. Fresh water would be required for the eateries and washbasins. The Chennai Corporation needs to extend its limits to encompass places on the OMR and other areas, which do not come under its ambit, Mr Reddy. The other option is to set up another body with exclusive focus on these areas. This is the need of the hour, as sewerage pipes have to be connected to the main line. He said garbage collection has to be enforced. Currently, these are areas coming under the local panchayats.

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