Historically, airports have been catalysts of real estate activities. Karnataka has witnessed how Kempegowda Airport in the northern outpost of India’s ‘Silicon Valley’, Bengaluru, has turned the region into a bustling commercial and housing hub. The rise of Gurugram as a commercial and housing hub has been attributed to its proximity to the international airport.
Airports are large-scale logistic projects that can seamlessly connect a region with the rest of India and the world, thereby bringing the spotlight on the region.
Besides, airport projects are paired with multi-sectors of development of the region such as hotels and resorts, concept tourism, aero-cities, high street retail and shopping malls, offices, townships, etc. This further heralds wider economic transformation.
North Goa region along with the Konkan belt is also going to witness a boom in construction activity like Gurugram and Bengaluru. The MIA in North Goa has commenced operations and is slated to start international flights soon.
The airport is built to handle more than 13 million passengers annually after its full utilisation.
Along with the modern facilities inside the airport, Rs 2,300 crore mega projects will also be paired with 232 acres of commercial development that will include convention centres, hotels, casinos, retail, and much more. Already the RFP has been floated for these mega projects.
The positive impact of the airport project has also started reverberating across the region. It has begun the transformation of the backward Pernem taluka, into a bustling commercial and residential destination.
Serene landscapes and tranquil weather will see a spurt in second home retirement villas and farmhouse projects are some of the many upsides of Pernem.
However, Pernem has similarities with the rest of the Konkan belt which is rich in numerous plantations such as cashews, berries, gourds, spices, and much more, which will further fuel the demand for farmhouses and plotted developments.
To add to its advantages the proximity to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai will further fuel the jump in the retirement home segment.
All the above factors are making Mopa the epicentre of growth and commerce in the State. Evidently, the Goa government too has placed a lot of emphasis on the MIA for mopping up revenue for the State after the closure of mining activity in the State.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant while speaking to a section of media stated that including the revenues from mining, MIA will also be contributing a lot to the revenues of the State.
The airport is likely to draw about Rs 2,700 crore of investments from builders and hoteliers until 2030 as the upcoming North Goa aviation gateway becomes the transport hub of South Asia’s tropical paradise, replacing Dabolim that faced both -- watch-hour and space constraints.
These investments will be directed towards the Mopa region in the State’s extreme north, where the new airport is based. The funds will be used to build luxury hotels, eco-hotels, nature and wellness resorts and hotels and home stays.
The impact of the spurt of investments has already been felt in Goa as far as tourism is concerned.
The coastal State’s South district is witnessing a decline in tourism with several hotels and resorts catering to international tourists reporting cancellations in their bookings.
Cancellations of bookings were witnessed in October 2022. The reason was due to anticipation of some airline companies who had announced operations of their flights to the new airport. The trend has not changed.
The hoteliers of South Goa struggle to keep up pace with the tourism in North Goa. Because of the proximity to the airport the areas are also becoming a favourite destination for second home buyers. Developers are struggling to sell their properties as the demand for second homes in the South has fallen.
The availability of proper road connectivity to places in South Goa has also been an important factor for people looking away from the district.
The property registrations in Bardez and Pernem in recent times are a proof to the trend. Registrations in these talukas have seen a quantum leap after Covid-19 pandemic. The State Registrar-cum-Head of Notary Services is witnessing a tremendous increase in registration of small and big properties in Bardez and Pernem, mostly of the people buying their second homes.
The 12 sub-offices and two district offices of the Registration Department have registered 13,247 properties till October 8, 2022 as compared to 19,461 properties registered during the entire previous financial year.
Bardez and Pernem Talukas like every year topped the highest revenue earner for the department and the State from property registrations.
To put the quantum jump in perspective, the State Registrar-cum-Head of Notary Services earned Rs 289.32 crore by registering 13,247 properties before the financial year ended last month. It is a proof that individuals and developers both prefer to have properties in the Northern region of the State.
Rajesh Dabholkar, a land developer from Panjim, admitted that the land prices are shooting up in the Pernem taluka in the recent past due to rapid development and particularly after the Mopa airport.
“Not only have I, but many high profile politicians purchased huge tracts of land neighbouring Mopa village,” he said.
“Land prices in Pernem taluka are increasing. About a decade ago, the rate was Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per square metres for settlement area and Rs 800 to Rs 1,200 per square metre for orchard land. Today the rate is Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per square metres for settlement area and Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per square metres for orchard area,” Dabholkar said.
Deep Karapurkar of Cityscape Builders, Margao said, “Builders in the South Goa district continue to struggle as far as selling of new flats, as most of the customers, especially from other States across the country, prefer North Goa instead of South Goa. There is no impact in South Goa after the commissioning of the Manohar International Airport pertaining to land prices and demand for flats,” he said.
“Hence, we have to mostly depend on the locals in order to push for the business. Maximum builders are depending on locals for their survival. There is no increase in demand as such for the residential flats after commissioning of the MIA. The price of the land continues to increase as usual and we cannot say that it is because of the Mopa airport,” Karapurkar said.
Ankit Prabhudesai, Architect and Developer from South Goa said that non development of Margao and the lack of upgradation of amenities in Margao and other parts of South Goa district have resulted in a slump in the real estate business in Margao and around the town.
“Margao hasn't developed for the last 20 to 25 years which has resulted in a slowdown in real estate business. As far as the commissioning of Zuari Bridge and that of the MIA at Mopa in Pernem taluka is concerned, they will affect the projects that are reliant on outside investors,” Prabhudesai said.
“The developers who make homes and flats for permanent residences of families will not be affected. The ones that will be affected are those who are creating spaces for second home buyers,” he said.
“There is a huge boom of real estate development that has already started in North Goa. However, the niche clientele who prefer quiet and peaceful locales will come to South Goa. North Goa is getting more commercial hence the ones who prefer quality time will be pulled to southern parts of Goa,” he added.
Prabhudesai said that though the boom has started in the North, it is early to predict the effect.
“It is all subjective as we will only come to know the effects after three or four years after the MIA becomes fully functional,” he said.
“Mopa and Zuari are not factors that are going to affect the business in South Goa,” he added.
Much before the Mopa airport project became a reality, many high profile politicians and their relatives started buying huge strata of land in the vicinity of Mopa village.
The anti-Mopa activists had produced Sale Deeds of land purchased by some of the politicians even as the latter had claimed that they had no ulterior motive. Now there is a boom in real estate in Mopa village as many developers are buying properties for development.
The rapid urbanisation of Pernem taluka will have its long-term implications. While on one hand, there would be spurt in human settlements here, on the other hand there will be a massive burden on the limited infrastructure.
Already, there is a huge spurt in demand for water. But the local authorities are struggling to meet the requirement. It remains to be seen how the State government is going to tackle this tricky situation.