Land acquisition for Dwarka Expressway's 1km stretch in Delhi to kick off

Unlike acquisition of land under the Land Acquisition Act, land acquired under the NHAI Act cannot be challenged in court

GURGAON: It will take National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) a month and a half to acquire 24.03 hectares of land in the Bijwasan and Bamnoli areas of the capital to construct the incomplete 1km portion of the Dwarka expressway in Delhi. The authority issued a notification under the NHAI Act to ensure the process is completed without any hassle.

Unlike acquisition of land under the Land Acquisition Act, land acquired under the NHAI Act cannot be challenged in court.

Of the 4km of Dwarka expressway that is incomplete, from Urban Extension Road II (UER-II) passing through Dwarka Sector 26 in Delhi till Sector 111 in Gurgaon, 3km is on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land, while the remaining 1km, which is private land, has to be acquired by NHAI.

To build this road, NHAI will acquire 24.03 hectares in Bijwasan and Bamnoli.


“We have identified the land and hope to complete acquisition at the earliest,” said NHAI project director Ashok Sharma.

The proposed 150m-wide Dwarka-Palam Vihar link, also known as Northern Peripheral Road or Dwarka expressway, which connects Dwarka in Delhi and NH-8 in Gurgaon, was envisaged 10 years ago and was to be ready before the Commonwealth Games 2010. The 27km-long road — 18km in Gurgaon and 9km in Delhi — has already missed six deadlines.

The detailed project report for the Delhi portion of the expressway is being prepared by NHAI through consultant AECOM.

Source: https://goo.gl/SneC3O

Delhi's IGI airport will have own Metro connecting all terminals

At present, passengers transit between terminals by buses. Till the tunnel road was ready, buses used to go via NH-8 in front of Radisson — something that could take up to 45 minutes. The tunnel route has cut commute time to half an hour.

NEW DELHI: The IGI airport will soon get its own “air train”, a dedicated Metro, for passengers to transit from one terminal to another. Leading airports of the world like New York’s JFK, London Heathrow, Hong Kong and Zurich have long had free-to-use Metro lines between their terminals and Delhi will be the first Indian airport to boast of the same.

“Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) has proposed an automated people mover (APM) between terminal 1 (low cost domestic), T2 (old international which will make way for a new T4 in 2020) and T3. Work on it was originally supposed to begin in 2020 alongside the construction of T4, but, given the growth in Delhi airport and volume of traffic, the aviation ministry has told us that the APM should be expedited and made ready at the earliest,” said a highly placed source.

At present, passengers transit between terminals by buses. Till the tunnel road was ready, buses used to go via NH-8 in front of Radisson — something that could take up to 45 minutes. The tunnel route has cut commute time to half an hour.

DIAL is going to ask Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to do a technical study on the routing and also give an indicative costing of the air train project. The airport operator has held initial consultations with a New York-based firm.

Based on that, the plan is to have four stations for its air train — at T1, Aerocity (the hospitality district), cargo terminal and a common one for T3 and T2/4.

“By our estimates, the line should be 5.5-km-long with 3km underground section and 2.5km on ground. The average costing of each kilometer of under and on ground Metro line is up to Rs 500 crore and Rs 200 crore. It should cost Rs 1,500-2,000 crore. All this will be known for sure once DMRC gives its report to DIAL,” said the source.

Delhi airport — with two terminals (T3 and T1) and three runways — handled 5.5 crore passengers in 2016. By July, DIAL will begin work on expanding T1 and laying the fourth runway.

With this, the annual capacity at T1 will rise to 3.5 crores while T3-T2 will collectively handle about 4 crore passengers by 2020. Clearly, there will be a large number of passengers transiting between T3/2 and T1 for flight transfers. The next phase in 2025 when T4 is ready, will see an annual traffic rise to 9.2 crores. The eventual capacity of IGI airport is about 10 to 11 crore passengers per annum. Once T4 is ready by 2025, T3 which is integrated domestic-cum-international could be made all international and T1, T4 could be all domestic.

The airport operator is collecting data on the projected volume of inter-terminal transfers in coming years to determine the number of coaches and frequency.

It estimates the train may need to start with two coaches and leave at the duration of two to three minutes. The capacity and frequency will be increased as traffic increases.

“Originally we were to begin work after 2020 when T2 would be demolished to make way for T4. However, the government wants the air train to be ready at the earliest. Once DMRC gives us an estimate, we will move the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to see how it will be funded,” said the source.

A senior DIAL official had recently said the massive traffic boom in Delhi will ensure that there is no sudden rise in cost for users, the passengers, as the operator begins the second phase of its expansion work.


Source: https://goo.gl/VoQ8Up

Delhi eight among Asia Pacific's retail hot spots in 2014

Nineteen global retailers making their entry to the national capital's prime shopping locations helped the city retain its 8th rank among Asia Pacific's top retail hot spots.

According to global property consultant CBRE's Retail Hot spots in Asia Pacific 2014, established as well as emerging retail markets in the region saw 464 new retail entrants in 2014, 23 per cent more than 2013.

CBRE's Retail Hot spots in Asia Pacific 2014 reports on international retailer activity occurring in the APAC region.

The year saw Tokyo attracting the most number of new retail entrants (63), followed by Singapore (58), Taipei (49), Hong Kong (45) and Beijing (34).

"Prime shopping districts of New Delhi attracted 19 global retailers in 2014 over 16 entrants in 2013. New Delhi held on to its eighth position among the APAC region's top target markets, along with Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok," CBRE said in the report.

With 11 entries from global retailers, Mumbai too maintained its 14th spot in the region, along with Brisbane (Australia).

Overall, the spotlight continued to remain on emerging locations of India, China and Southeast Asia, the report said.

Commenting on the report, CBRE South Asia Chairman and Managing Director Anshuman Magazine said: "We are expecting a growth in retail sales across the region in 2015, albeit with a more cautious approach from retailers."

Retailers would be more strategic in store network planning and focusing on proven retail environments, he added.

"In terms of retail segments, we expect food and beverage (F&B) to remain the most active. Consumers in the region thrive on new concepts, with landlords keen on creating shopping destinations by offering more dining options," Magazine said.

The luxury and business retail segment saw the greatest share of new entrants at 22.6 per cent.

However, the coffee and restaurants segment's growth climbed steeply to 22.4 per cent in 2014, compared to just 14.8 per cent in 2013.

"Retailers from the US made the most new entries into Asia Pacific with 24 per cent, followed jointly by retailers from Italy and the UK with 11 per cent each, to be followed by French retailers at 10.5 per cent," CBRE said

Source: PropertyatNeoDevelopers.Wordpress.Com