Job Creation Drives Affordable Housing In Chakan, Pune: Sachin Agarwal, CMD – Maple Shelters

sachin agarwal1There are good reasons why Chakan in Pune’s PCMC region has evolved into the thriving hub it is today. To begin with, this area enjoys superlative locational advantages, being in the middle of Maharashtra’s Golden Triangle and well-connected to Pune, Nasik and Mumbai. The growth of the IT, manufacturing, automobile and services industries in this region have all made Chakan one of the most vibrant locations on Pune’s real estate map over the last decade.

Chakan is situated about 32 kilometers from Pune along the Pune-Nasik Highway. It is also in close proximity to the Pune-Ahmednagar-Aurangabad Highway and Pune-Mumbai Highway. The rapid industrialization here has led to vastly increased commercial activity, which has in turn resulted in massive demand for residential properties – particularly affordable homes – to house the proliferating workforce from its several existing and new industries across the length and breadth of Chakan.

With the highest demand is for affordable homes priced between Rs. 10-20 lakh, 1 BHK units are the fastest movers in this market. Despite their low budgets, home buyers in this market require and expect the benefits of modern amenities, provisions for recreation as well as medical facilities. Projects like Aapla Ghar are now addressing this specific demand for modern, well-appointed affordable homes in Chakan, just half a kilometer away from Chakan Chowk and with banks, markets, schools, colleges and hospitals within a 1-kilometer radius.

In the future, Chakan is going to assume increasing importance both as a real estate destination and an economic powerhouse. This area has been promoted to the status of Special Economic Zone by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and is one of India’s major automobile hubs. In fact, Chakan has production plants and manufacturing units for several national and international automobile brands, including Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Daimler-Benz, Volkswagen Group and Mercedes-Benz.

Royal Philips Industry, one of the premier facilities for the manufacture of diagnostic X-Ray systems and other interventional imaging solutions, has been operational in Chakan since 2012 and creates several thousands of jobs each year. This area also houses a big production plant for Leoni, a German manufacturer of cables and cable system.

Forbes Marshall, a global boiler manufacturing company too had started out in India with its facility in Chakan. The total investment in this project so far has been Rs. 250 crore, and it generates a huge number of jobs each year. Similar investments have been made by Atlas Copco, Tetra Pak, IndoSpace, Mahindra Intertrade ARaymond Network, LMT Indi, L’Oreal, Bosch, MINDA, Pasco Ltd., Marriot International, Steelcase Furniture, Hyundai Construction Equipment India, Sany Group, Everstone Capital, Matheson K-Air India and many other leading industrial groups.

Because of the key role it plays in Pune’s economic growth, the city’s new airport is also being established near Chakan. This is going to intensify the investment and growth of the city, and the demand for homes there will eventually spread across all budget segments. However, affordable housing is and will remain the key requirement in this region, which depends heavily on lower-income workforces. Chakan will continue to generate jobs for such employees for several decades to come, and this will translate into sustained demand for affordable homes in this region.

About The Author:

Sachin Agarwal is CMD of Maple Group (founded in 1997 as Goyal Constructions) whose mission is to provide genuinely affordable housing to the common man without compromising on quality and amenities. Maple Group’s ‘Aapla Ghar’ initiative has seen unprecedented success. The Group now has unique welfare housing projects, other residential projects and commercial projects in 30+ key locations in and around the city of Pune Maharashtra, India.

http://mapleshelters.com