In Andhra Pradesh, nothing comes close to the 400-acre Tellapur Township by HUDA/TISHMAN SPEYER! TIMES OF INDIA-Nov 01-2007
With the expected changes the new international airport and the outer ring road will bring in, several mega projects in the Public Private Mode are being taken up by government agencies such as APIIC, APHB, HUDA. The projects include the IInd Hitech City, the Financial District and Hardware Park, the Fab city, the Singapore Township and several satellite townships, industry SEZs ....the list goes on and on. Since the city is on a growth path, the investment, employment and growth opportunities are likely to boom.
To avoid sporadic and haphazard growth, well-controlled, planned and regulated framework of development initiatives are what will now make up the blue-print of the future city. The reality today is that with the sudden boom, roads and all essential city amenities are choked rendering it difficult for the civic authorities. Hence initiatives like the Greater Hyderabad plan, the one kilometre growth corridor on either side of the ORR, the Hyderabad Airport Development Authority master plan are steps in the direction of a carefully planned expansion of the city. The idea is not just to extend the city boundaries but plan for a much bigger metropolis. The city with a boundary of 2300 sq km will now be a gigantic 6300 sq km city. That is a huge leap over the existing boundaries of the city. Metropolitan Mumbai is by comparison 4272 sq km.
The objective of the Integrated Townships slated to be built in the city is to ease traffic congestion in the twin cities and to meet the growing need for residential, commercial and office spaces.
"When we started doing the ring road, we realised that once this road is operational, distance will be measured in time, not kilometres. So though the city will spread out, the travel time will be extremely manageable. Taking advantage of the ORR, we will plan satellite townships around it," avers Jayesh Ranjan, VC, HUDA.
The stellar Tellapur Township being developed by HUDA, for example, is three miles from Hyderabad's CBD and will include a total of 20 million sq ft of residential and office components and associated retail, civic and cultural amenities.
Upon completion, it is expected to be the country's largest integrated township and the first of its kind under a public-private partnership.
"The fact that the township is to be constructed by one of the world's best construction companies, Tishman Speyer, itself is a confirmation of the value people see in integrated townships," says Jayesh. In Andhra Pradesh, nothing comes close to this 400-acre township.
Private developers cannot really handle such mega-projects, given that they mostly look for a return in three years. By next year, the first phase of the township should be completed. When fully operational, it should house 40,000 people.
The other major part of the blueprint are the IT parks that will surround the city. Commenting on the IT Parks, SK Joshi, Secretary Technology, avers "The projects are put in place with corporates in mind. The SEZs and IT Parks have been planned with the walk-to - work concept which global companies are familiar with. The city had to have plug and play office space and housing within close vicinity."
