New infra brings Dwarka sub-city back in demand

It’s 4pm, and Amit Sharma, a real estate agent in Dwarka, is engrossed in a meeting with a couple from Gurugram, who are interested in buying a three-bedroom apartment in the sub-city. Sharma diligently suggests a diverse range of properties available within the price range of ₹1.6 to 2 crore. “You see, prices have risen by 25% over the past two years,” he tells the couple, both IT professionals, who feel the cost is a bit beyond their budget. Twenty minutes later, as his clients depart, he shifts his attention to us.

- Manoj Sharma

 

“There was a time when most of my clients only wanted to sell their property in Dwarka, but now, we have people from all over Delhi and Gurugram eager to buy property here. The demand far outweighs the supply,” says Sharma, whose father ventured into Dwarka’s real estate market in the late 1980s, when the sub-city was still in the planning stage.

Sharma’s real estate firm is called Pappan Properties, a name, he proudly points out, which has connections with Dwarka’s history. “Not many people are aware that Dwarka was originally called Pappan Kalan, and it was renamed Dwarka by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the 2000s, when it realised that the name didn’t align well with their vision of creating a Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh-like mini city,” says Sharma, whose office has a large map of the sub-city on one of the walls. “In recent years, brand Dwarka has got a major boost; it is a sub-city of the future.”

Dwarka, about 26km from Connaught Place, has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade, evolving from a suburb saddled with myriad civic problems into one of the most sought-after addresses in the Capital located close to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, thanks to the government’s unprecedented infra push over the past few years.

For example, last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the ₹25,703-crore India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC), named “Yashobhoomi”, which once complete, will also feature office and retail spaces, hotel rooms, and exhibition halls, apart from a convention centre.

The ₹530-crore Bharat Vandana Park is being developed as a prominent tourist destination, and will include an eco-forest, numerous lakes, cultural and adventure sports facilities, and will showcase replicas of 36 prominent Indian monuments.