Can 'New Noida' become a new investment hub for UP?

The New Noida project, according to officials, is estimated to generate employment opportunities for 1.2 million people by 2040. In the area that is set to be developed as a residential hub, high-rises and group housing societies will come up, according to the masterplan

With nearly 60 villages from Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district and 20 from Gautam Buddha Nagar will soon get its new investment hub called 'New Noida'. This Delhi-Noida-Ghaziabad investment region will be developed across 20,000 hectares in four phases over the next 20 years.

In the first phase, infrastructure and early development in the extreme northern and southern parts of the planning area as well as the administrative hub will be done. This area is in close proximity to the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and the Howrah-Delhi railway line.

It is well connected by rail, road and airport, officials said. According to the government spokesman, the New Noida is being envisaged as an industrial and logistics hub and the State government has asked concerned officials to fast track the project.

"The masterplan has been discussed in detail. The board will now send it to the chief town and country planner in Lucknow and take feedback," said a senior official involved in the project. The Uttar Pradesh government had issued a notification for the 'New Noida' project and declared the area as a special economic zone in January last year.

It had assigned the Noida Authority the task of executing the project. The decision to expedite the project came a day after a Noida Authority team held a meeting at the FICCI chambers in Delhi to attract investors

Ritu Maheshwari, the Authority CEO, said the meeting was intended at understanding the current market scenario and taking inputs from industry captains. Around 100 representatives from various sectors attended the meet.

The Authority team informed the participants about the resources, accessibility and benefits of investing in New Noida, officials said.

"Various aspects of the scheme, availability of land bank in commercial, industrial and group housing categories were discussed with the stakeholders. They were also informed about the procedure for applying for the plots," the official said.

The industrialists showed interest in the current scheme and requested the government to initiate projects in the PPP mode. There were also requests to bring out a scheme for warehousing. It was also suggested to have wide roads.

'New Noida', the officials said, will have good connectivity with all forms of transport - rail, road and air - the upcoming airport in Jewar.

Some of the major speedways passing through the area are Eastern Peripheral Expressway, NH-91(GT Road), Ghaziabad-Kanpur Expressway. Apart from the Northern Railway line, the eastern and western freight corridors are also being planned in the area.

A multimodal transport and transit hub is also being developed, the officials said. 'New Noida' is being planned as a smart city, with the provision of utility ducts similar to some of the townships under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme.

According to official sources, industries will make up more than 40 per cent of the land earmarked for New Noida. The State government intends to develop a city with "smart" physical infrastructure and waste management sites, besides provision of intelligent energy with a low carbon footprint.

The city will have only 11 per cent for residential use, 8 per cent for the institutional sector and 4.3 per cent for commercial establishments. Green belts, parks and open spaces have found special mention in the plan that lays special focus on traffic management and transportation.

The New Noida project, according to officials, is estimated to generate employment opportunities for 1.2 million people by 2040. In the area that is set to be developed as a residential hub, high-rises and group housing societies will come up, according to the masterplan.

The document also mentions a safe and secure neighbourhood with the availability of basic amenities within "walking distance in each sector". Officials said that the planning department is working on how much purchasable floor area ratio can be allowed in the plan. A senior official said: "New Noida will be more modern than Noida and also greater in all aspects than Greater Noida-and this says it all."