Several Ahmedabad-based developers are looking forward to building apartment buildings as tall as skyscrapers on the stretch of the Sabarmati riverfront being developed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). The civic body intends to auction some of the riverfront land for construction of residential property.
The builders’ plans will materialise only if the AMC (or the urban development department) raises the floor space index (FSI) for new residential property on the riverfront. The Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL), a company floated by the AMC to execute the project, has already started development work in the riverfront area.
Sources in the city’s real estate sector said that land plots along the river would be among the most expensive plots in the city once the SRFDCL completes its work.
“The riverfront is one of the most strategic locations for skyscrapers in Ahmedabad,” a builder said. “For example, flats located on the higher floors of a 20-storey building he would give residents a bird’s eye view of the entire city. No wonder, the city’s developers are eagerly awaiting a formal announcement of the AMC’s policy on the land it is developing there.”
Explaining the SRFDCL’s position on the subject, municipal commissioner IP Gautam, who is also the chairman of the SRFDCL, said they are working on a proper policy for the riverfront land. “Whether the riverfront land earmarked for residential purposes is auctioned or not, will be decided on the basis of market conditions,” he said.
The all-important issue for developers, however, is the new FSI for the area that the AMC (or the UDD) may announce. A developer, who is very keen to build a high-rise residential apartment building on the riverfront, said that every developer in the city wants to build something there.“The only thing that might ruin our plans is an adverse FSI which will make it unprofitable to build residential buildings there,” he said.
NK Patel, director of Real Estate Studies and Management Academy (RESMA), said, “If the authorities raise the FSI for land in this special zone, it will make the Sabarmati riverfront as valuable as land in Singapore. A favourable FSI will allow developers to build skyscrapers which will be something unique for the city.”
When asked about Amdavadis’ fear of living in high-rise buildings, Patel said, “People are not scared of staying in skyscrapers anymore. Builders just need to ensure that their apartment buildings are quake-proof.” Developers know that land along the riverfront would be expensive because of its unique location. Jaxay Shah, president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), said that, for this reason, most developers want to build skyscrapers there as that would give them more space to sell.
The cost of land in this area was between Rs35,000 and Rs50,000 per sq yard last year when the realty market was booming. Currently, it is around Rs35,000 per sq yard, a developer said.
