The New InfoTech City

Coimbatore being the textile backbone of Southern India has been labeled ‘Manchester of South India’. In the last few decades, swapping cotton with technology it has emerged as an IT hub, successively giving real estate a much needed push. Coimbatore is one of the fastest growing tier-II cities of India.

Having featured in the list of Smart Cities Mission, Coimbatore has attracted German assistance for the project. With rapid industrial and infrastructure development, it has become a lucrative destination for real estate investors.

Housing demands

Coimbatore has emerged into an IT city thus an increasing demand for affordable houses primarily comes from young IT professionals. The upmarket residential localities, such as R.S. Puram, Avinashi Road and Race Course have experienced highest demand for residential units. Whereas in the affordable segment, localities such as Saravanampatti, Mettupalayam road, and Trichy road have witnessed a rise in small projects. With the IT industry growing in Saravanampatti, this region has developed as a prized residential locality.

Infrastructure initiative of the three monorail routes proposed by the government in 2012 is set to improve connectivity within the city. This project will attract residential development in Tidel Park. The first circular route connects Gandhipuram with Ganapathy, Sivananda Colony, Sai Baba colony, RS Puram, Townhall and City Railway Station. The second circular route connects Podanur with Trichy Road, Sungam, Redfields, Race Course, City Railway Station and Ukkadam. Also, a linear line was proposed from Chinniampalayam to TNAU via airport, CODISSIA, Lakshmi Mills, Gandhipuram, Coimbatore North Junction and Cowley Brown Road.

Growth opportunities

Coimbatore is home to some of the country’s oldest flour mills and large to small textile mills with skilled and cheap labour readily available from the surrounding regions. Famous for its already flourishing textile and spinning industry, Coimbatore now has expanded itself to embrace other sectors such as IT, general engineering, automobile parts manufacturing, poultry, just to name a few. Ranked 17 among the global IT outsourcing cities, it got a fresh boost recently with the launch of Tidel Park. Of the many IT majors operating in the city, Cognizant alone employs 5,000 people and plans to double its capacity shortly which will usher a rise in real estate demand. The city has a diversified manufacturing sector. Major auto and auto ancillaries sourcing from the city, such as Maruti, Tata Motors, Pricol and LG Balakrishnan have generated job opportunities for many. Manufacturers of wet grinders operating from Coimbatore supply about 40 per cent of the country’s requirement for pumps and motors. The city also excels in textile machinery manufacturing with some of the best known global brands.

The infrastructure of the city is bound to improve with the proposed western bypass, running from Kangeyampalayam to Mettupalayam, easing traffic from Palakkad and the eastern bypass providing connectivity between the major arterial roads within the city. The upcoming residential areas like Saravanampatty and Kurumbapalayam are likely to benefit from the proposed ring road, starting from Avinashi road and going till Mettupalayam road.

The city has also become a centre for healthcare with several multi specialty hospitals opening up. It has also been recognised as a centre for educational excellence with 7 universities, 32 engineering colleges, 47 arts and science colleges, 22 medical and paramedical institutions, and many more colleges of management, education, catering, etc. All these factors mark for the remarkable growth of the city that has led to a massive influx of working and student population.

With many townships like Kovai Hills, Prozone Intu and Mitula launched successfully in the foothills of the city and under construction residential projects with an estimated investment of `500 crore, the city is one of the most favoured destinations for affordable housing.

Development indicators

• Proposed eastern and western bypass to improve connectivity
• Two existing SEZs along with five more in the pipeline to create business opportunities
• Robust educational infrastructure producing skilled workforce
• Ring road to benefit upcoming residential areas of Kurumbapalayam

Booming Coimbatore

• Proposed monorail routes will push residential development in Tidel Park
• Saravanampatti has witnessed an increase in residential and commercial space demand
• It is becoming a center for healthcare with several multispecialty hospitals opening up

olmdesk@outlookindia.com