Delhi to have its own World Trade Centre
On 17 May, Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, laid the foundation stone of World Trade Center (WTC) in Nauroji Nagar. The project is being developed by NBCC (India) Ltd under license from WTC, New York.
But first, what is WTC and what is so special about the WTC network? The World Trade Center Association (WTCA) is a notfor-profit, non-political association dedicated to the establishment of World Trade Centers as instruments for international trade expansion. The WTCA unites corporations and government agencies in international trade. It provides a portfolio of branded offices and commercial real estate, alongside an extensive suite of trade services for tenants, thereby linking them with the rest of the global network. According to a spokesperson from NBCC, “The WTCA has 323 licensed world trade affiliates in 88 countries as well as more than 750,000 companies and individuals. This means that a WTC tenant or a member of a local WTC can leverage this ecosystem of global trade to generate opportunities and take their businesses abroad.”
WTC, Nauroji Nagar is touted as being the first-of-its-kind project in the Delhi NCR region in certain ways. According to Anoop Kumar Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director NBCC, “This world class structure will change the skyline of New Delhi. The state-of-the-art commercial hub spread across 25 acres will have 60 lakh sq ft of built-up area and 12 commercial towers.” NBCC, which has obtained accreditation from the WTCA, says that it is conforming to the best standards of commercial real estate- there will be integrated building management systems, smart features for lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), safety and security systems and modern waste management systems. The business hub will have independent offices with retail outlets, food court, conference facilities, business centres, art galleries, three-layered basement parking for 8,014 cars and direct connectivity from airport, railway and metro stations.
Talk about how tall the WTC at New Delhi will be as compared to its American counterpart which was known for its height amongst other things, Mittal says that the building will not be very tall “due to the project site being in air funnel zone, the height of the building will be 10 floors (G +9).”
Ask about the transaction of office spaces and going rate, as on date, NBCC has already sold nearly 3.4 lakh sqft office space in two of the towers for approx. Rs 1,400 crore to PFC, HDFC, HPCL, SIDBI, Energy Efficiency Services, RITES etc. The commercial space is being sold on free hold basis through e-auction. The reserve price for e-auction is 37161 Rs/sq ft. The project is likely to be completed by June 2020, confirms Mittal.
Another thing that WTC is unfortunately associated with is the infamous 9/11 attacks on twin towers in US? What all is being done to ensure safety? Mittal says that safety and security will be the top priority with location tracking being done by mod- ern integrated building management systems. There will be boom barriers controlled by smart tags and digital signage to find a way for particular location. Lift lobbies will have optical barriers. Intelligent addressable detectors and hooters will be deployed to warn people in case of evacuation.
Access control and elevators will be blocked as lighting and signage directions turn on automatically.
There will be robotic communication to police and fire authorities with voice and videos. For smoke extraction, windows will open automatically for 10 per cent of glazed area. Redevelopment was also agenda for the day and Venkaiah Naidu also laid the foundation stone for redevelopment of Netaji Nagar on the same day, saying that the way forward for India is urban renewal, retrofitting and redevelopment.
All this is part of the “new urban renaissance” and India is witnessing rapid urbanisation as millions of people aspire to look for better standards of living. As a result, cities and towns will undergo transformation in coming years. NBCC is implementing Government’s plan to redevelop seven old General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) colonies for central gov- ernment employees. Three colonies namely Nauroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar and Sarojini Nagar will be built at the cost of Rs 32,000 crore and will be completed by 2022. The Netaji Nagar is being redeveloped as a smart sub city on 110 acre land where 5000 houses have to be made. This will be a zero waste project, making use of recycled water and adopting new technologies for pollution control. Equipped with Smart City sustainable features, the high rise project will have seamlessly integrated green landscape with two-level basement parking for 3,500 cars. There will be shopping centres, efficient management of energy and water resources along with central air conditioning and It-enabled office environment. Sarojini Nagar colony shall also be redeveloped vertically as GPRA and shall have commercial space for sale. According to Hardeep S. Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, “New Delhi could emerge as the world’s most populous city by 2028. Hence the government has embarked upon planned urbanisation The WTC in Nauroji Nagar and redevelopment of GPRA colony in Netaji Nagar are the most powerful expression of transforming and greening of the national capital.”
THE HIGH RISE PROJECT WILL HAVE SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATED
GREEN LANDSCAPE WITH TWOLEVEL BASEMENT PARKING