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Central Business District, or CBDs as it is popularly known, is the commercial hubs of a city. Mumbai has its Nariman Point in South Mumbai; New Delhi, its Connaught Place; Kolkata, its Park Street and Chennai, its Anna Salai. Traditionally, the CBDs are located close to the centre of the city. In some cities, they are not exactly in the centre, e.g. Nariman Point in the southern extremity of Mumbai. Most CBDs have developed and evolved over the years. With the transformations in the real estate sector, the traditional CBDs seem to be losing to the peripheries, gradually. Besides, the cities appear to be heading for a situation, where multiple CBDs dot the landscape.
Originally, CBDs are the areas around which the cities grew. CBDs emerged in the areas, which are easy to access and convenient for business. Expanding population and growing business needs have put tremendous stress on the CBDs which are not able to cope with the demands of the modern markets. Lack of land availability, clogging of access because of the stupendous growth all around and high cost of land have been the negative factors of CBDs.
Mumbai:
Mumbai’s CBD Nariman Point lies at one end of Mumbai. Nariman Point is also facing the issues plaguing the CBDs nowadays. Market conditions have already forced Mumbai to look at other options outside South Mumbai as business areas. Navi Mumbai was one option, which failed to take off, due to lack of support from the state government. But the Bandra-Kurla Complex has succeeded in attracting some major financial institutions and companies. This is mainly because of lower property rates and modern quality construction with large floor spaces. Several companies have closed down their offices all over Mumbai and consolidated under one roof in the Bandra-Kurla Complex. Prime examples of this are ICICI, IL&FS and Citibank. This business complex has come up very well, but until more companies move there soon, the other supporting infrastructure items like restaurants and public transport will not develop to the same extent as a commercial complex. Nariman Point is certainly feeling the pressure, with its capital and rental rates dropping substantially, over the past couple of years. But this exodus has been limited from South Mumbai. Another commercial area, which has been developing slowly, is the mill area in Worli and Lower Parel, but this is mainly in the retail sector.
Delhi:
Delhi also presents a similar picture. The exodus from CP, NCR’s CBD, has been going on for the last couple of years. The destination for most companies has been Gurgaon, with a few moving to Noida and other NCR satellite townships. The reasons are obvious. CP has traffic and parking problems, pollution issues, high capital and rental costs as well as high cost of maintenance and poor infrastructure and support. The Delhi Metro project may be able to revive CP again, since it will make commuting much easier than before. Gurgaon has been able to provide the right infrastructure along with modern buildings with large floor spaces at affordable prices. Parking and pollution are not issues here, though the connectivity with New Delhi leaves a lot to be desired. But the plan to have a 8-lane expressway connecting Gurgaon to New Delhi is already underway, which will reduce the commuting time to 25 minutes. Plus Gurgaon has the advantage of being close to the international airport. Noida and Greater Noida are the other destinations available to companies, which want to move out of CP.
Other Metros:
Kolkata and Chennai have their CBDs centrally located. But Chennai’s Tidel Park (IT hotspot), has seen some IT companies move away from the crowded and expensive areas of Mount Road to the south along the Mahabalipuram Road. Kolkata has also seen some movement away from Park Street area to the Salt Lake area. Bangalore has also seen movement away from MG Road and Brigade Road to other areas away from the city. Hyderabad has witnessed the commercial migration from Begumpet and Bangara Hills to Madhapur and IT Park areas of the city. Pune too is not an exception this exodus. The movement away from MG Road and JM Road (Deccan Gymkhana) to newer areas like Pashan and Hinjewadi, is remarkable.
In general, IT Parks have caused some of this movement away from the city CBDs. But the main reasons have been the high cost in the CBD, traffic and parking problems, lack of large floor spaces, old outdated structures and poor infrastructure and connectivity.
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