A rapid change in the skyline of Mumbai is being seen as more than 30 skyscrapers are mushrooming out of slumland in the city's most congested district.
Health of Chinese Middle-Class Being Compromised by High Housing Prices
A survey done by two Chinese universities has found that China's high housing price is impacting middle-class fortunes and causing them health problems.
A survey done by two Chinese universities has found that China's high housing price is impacting middle-class fortunes and causing them health problems.
Aashish, a successful Mumbai corporate director in his mid-40s, is eager to live in the lap of luxury with commanding views of the Arabian Sea.
But he won't have to leave the chaos, noise and congestion of India's financial capital to find his dream home and the peace and quiet he craves.
Smoking in Public Housing - a Health Threat to Tenants
Smoking in public housing in the US should be banned, claim scientists, for it threatens the health of not only the smoker, but the non-smokers too who live in the same environment.
Smoking in public housing in the US should be banned, claim scientists, for it threatens the health of not only the smoker, but the non-smokers too who live in the same environment.
"Peace and quiet, something which enhances life for my family," is what Aashish says led him to buy a luxury flat measuring more than 4,000 square feet (370 square metres) in the 80-storey Orchid Heights in downtown Jacob Circle.
Advertisement
Tumors in Mice With Cancer Shrunk by Housing Upgrade
A new study indicates that when mice with cancer get a boost in their social life and an upgrade in living conditions, their tumors shrink
A new study indicates that when mice with cancer get a boost in their social life and an upgrade in living conditions, their tumors shrink
Those behind the project say that people like Aashish, a director with one of India's leading telecom companies who asked for his real name not be used, are their prime targets alongside chief executives and entrepreneurs.
Advertisement
Providing Housing For Homeless Alcoholics Reduce Costs To Taxpayers
Providing housing and support services for homeless alcoholics costs taxpayers less than leaving them on the street, where taxpayer money goes towards police...
Providing housing and support services for homeless alcoholics costs taxpayers less than leaving them on the street, where taxpayer money goes towards police...
"Mumbai's architecture will be influenced by that seen in Dubai," he told AFP.
DB Realty, one of India's leading property developers, calls people like Aashish a "retreat seeker" -- a successful businessman who wants to enjoy his wealth in privacy.
He and others like him will pay nearly two million dollars for a designer apartment, built in a complex that boasts private cinemas, swimming pools, floodlit tennis courts, banqueting rooms and high-level security.
One of the most prestigious upcoming projects is Lodha Developers' "World One", a 117-storey colossus which will soar 1,450 feet (442 metres) -- with green spaces, cafes and an open-to-air observatory -- by 2014.
It will be one of the world's tallest residential buildings, containing apartments costing as much as 14 million dollars.
Another luxury venture, the exclusive Lodha "Bellisimo" has started to receive residents who have been hand-picked for their suitability, said a company official.
The phenomenon -- a stark sign of the gap between rich and poor in Mumbai, where 55 percent of the estimated 18 million population live in slum areas -- is being replicated across India's crowded cities.
At least 29 luxury projects have been launched in six leading cities -- New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune -- since the end of the global slump of 2008.
"Demand is sustainable," Shahid Balwa, chief executive of DB Realty, told AFP.
"The size of the market is very large. Mumbai can absorb between 30,000 to 40,000 homes in the one million dollar-plus category, each year."
Source-AFP
