The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) has forecasted Kochi to emerge as the next realty hot spot in the wake of the commissioning of the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT ) at Vallarpadam. CREDAI believes the prices of land and buildings are all set to skyrocket as it will generate more direct and indirect employment opportunities. Kochi will become a hub for logistics professionals from India and abroad when the activities of the port increase in and around Kochi.
It is expected that when the ICTT becomes fully operational, it will create over a lakh jobs, directly and indirectly in Kochi.Najeeb Zakariah, president of the CREDAI, Kochi, said that creation of more job opportunities will have multiple impact in the economy of Kerala, especially Kochi. Apart from housing, hospitality and retail sector will have a direct impact with more services being offered from Kochi.He pointed out that around 40 to 50 percent of the direct employees will prefer to own a house and others will be staying in rented buildings.
The need for Kochi will be 10,000 apartments a year for the next four years.Meanwhile, the infrastructure upgradation should be given prominence when more professionals come to Kochi and the need for housing increases.CREDAI officials said the development will be focused in and around Vallarpadam, especially at Kalamassery, Aluva and Vypeen areas.Real estate developers are yet to explore the possibilities of big housing projects at Vypeen. It is pointed out that the present trend is to buy a two bedroom apartment of 1,000 to 1,200 square feet.
However, real estate developers will be very cautious in investment as they had a bitter experience during the recession and huge projects which were started near the proposed Smart City project were stopped halfway without many buyers.There are two big projects coming up near Vallarpadam and five more are expected in six months.Land prices are also expected to rise manifold in Kochi.
