HITEC City, Hyderabad: An investment option that offers great deal value

The Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy (HITEC) City is also known as Cyberabad. Situated towards the north-western region of Hyderabad, HITEC City is a major high tech-business district.

It is also one of the leading information technology (IT), health informatics, bioinformatics and engineering hubs of India. It is also popularly known as Madhapur. This micro-market is surrounded by some well-established residential and commercial nodes such as Jubilee Hills, situated on the eastern side.

This thriving business district evolved after then Andhra chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, had a vision of developing an hub. L&T ECC took charge and the project was initiated with the name of L&T INFOCITY. Later it was renamed as HITEC City, as it is a collaboration of L&T Infocity and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.

HITEC City is spread across 151 acres. IT houses Microsoft, IBM, Metamor, Toshiba, Oracle and Wipro, beside other leading names. The presence of major educational institutes like Indian Business School and International Institute of Information Technology, as well as high-grade health care facilities adds to HITEC City's desirability as a real estate destination.

Due to the rapid development of IT and IT enabled Services (ITeS), this micro market is brimming with real estate activity in all asset classes. Being a major business district, the locality benefits from excellent connectivity. It is connected by a network of non-congested and wide roads to the key city centres.

Apart from the significant IT influence, the presence of good social infrastructure and rapidly developing physical infrastructure is an added advantage.

The occupier profile leans heavily towards IT or ITeS. With a steady supply of office space, there is a constant influx of IT firms and professionals into this micro-market. Some of the neighbouring localities have been benefiting from the spill-over demand, such as Sharthpur, Kondapur, Manikonda, Thellapur, Gachibowli and Nanakramguda.

Many reputed developers are active here, with a wide spectrum of residential projects. Those garnering interest from investors and end-users are Green Woods Residency, Indu Fortune Fields Villas, Abhi Residency, Sri Residency, Aditya Odyssey and more.

With current property prices averaging Rs 5,000/sq ft, with a year-on-year appreciation of five to eight per cent offered and with a favourable rental market offering a yearly rental of 3.3-3.7 per cent, HITEC City offers a great deal value on investment over the mid-to-long term.

The writer is managing director, south, JLL India