Big-ticket projects bring alive east Hyderabad’s realty market

HYDERABAD: Away from the IT hub, the realty market in Hyderabad’s eastern corridor – particularly Uppal and areas around it – is witnessing an upswing. Infusing life into this belt is a clutch of big-ticket projects being developed by major players. Among them is Ramky Estates & Farms Limited, which recently entered into an agreement with Genpact to develop 2 million square feet (sft) of grade A office space – perhaps the first of its kind in the area. If that’s not all, the construction firm is also coming up with swank apartments on a 9 lakh sft land parcel, expected to be priced upwards of 7,000 per sft.Market reports show Uppal registered fresh office space demand of around 1.2 lakh sft in the first half (January to June) of 2022, surpassing the entire 2021’s leasing figure by a high 20%. And in addition to Ramky, other prominent developers such as ASBL, Aparna, Vasavi, and NSL have also launched and built residential projects in this market, reports add.“Even now, 70% of the resource pool is working from home. Once everybody reverts to the work-from-office routine, the hi-tech corridor will be clogged. It’ll compel more corporates to set up satellite offices in places like Uppal,” said M Nanda Kishore, managing director of Ramky while listing out multiple other reasons for Uppal’s success. “The government’s policies, Uppal’s connectivity with the IT corridor and surrounding districts work in favour of this location. Also, the prices are still comparatively lower,” he added.Buoyed by the growing demand, NSL Group too is expanding its footprint in Uppal. While two residential towers are up and running, it is four more in the pipeline. “These are larger size homes — of 1,800 sft (avg) — expected to be priced at 6,900 per sft,” said Madhu Babu, general manager of the firm that’s also adding 3 million sft to its existing 2 million sft of IT space in the same area. But while these upcoming ventures are slightly expensive, the average cost of homes along this stretch is between 5,000 and 5,500 per sft. “We expect the demand to continue owing to limited residential supply and a healthy ecosystem,” said Veera Babu, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield (Hyderabad). He reiterated how rapid infrastructure updates such as the 6.2 km long Uppal corridor, aimed at decongesting the Warangal highway, and a six-lane bi-directional flyover at Nagole connecting Uppal, are among its primary USPs.