Hyderabad ranks second globally in JLL’s City Momentum Index in 2019, placing right after Bangalore. JLL’s City Momentum Index released its sixth edition in 2019, and this year, the focus has been purely on the short-term momentum of 131 cities across the globe. Short-term momentum refers to the dynamism and rapid growth of cities. Rapid growth comes with its own challenges like adding pressure on the city’s infrastructure and compromising its quality of life. If these remain unchecked, they would affect the long-term growth of the city. Hyderabad has moved up the ladder very fast in the last three years because of its fast-growing economy, demographics and real estate parameters. However, can Hyderabad be future proofed as well? Yes, it can, if both the government and the citizens of Hyderabad work together.
Hyderabad has a well-established economy driven by the technology and innovation sector. The city houses many technology giants along with successful start-ups. All these developments are due to Hyderabad’s higher education infrastructure and innovation capability, which built a stable base to make it future proof. However, the other attributes that also contribute to the city’s future growth are infrastructure and environmental quality. Mercer Quality of Living Rating 2018 ranked Hyderabad and Pune as top cities in India, but globally, they ranked 142nd. This indicates that Hyderabad needs a lot of work in terms of infrastructure and environment for it to become one of the best global cities.
Hyderabad definitely has the potential to be a world-class city with a proactive government and strong policy support to drive its economy. The government has efficiently executed the stellar policy of single-window clearance to attract businesses in Hyderabad. It is also working towards improving the environment by starting a large-scale tree planting programme called Telangana Ku Harita Haram (TKHH), which aims to improve tree coverage in the state from 24% to 33%. However, to improve the living standards in the city, both the government and the citizens of Hyderabad have to work together to implement the policies efficiently. There are large opportunities to invest further in improving the existing and upcoming infrastructure of Hyderabad. As the same political party won their second term of governance in the recent elections, expectations are even higher this time.
Hyderabad’s short-term growth dynamics are strong as it reported good office space leasing of more than 7 million sq ft in 2018, which is double that in 2017. This indicates economic growth through increased earnings and demographic growth with increased employment. Office supply for the next three years is expected to be about 20 million sq ft, and an expected annual absorption for this space is likely to be about 6-7 million sq ft. With all these short-term dynamics in place, Hyderabad just needs that last push to build a sustainable environment and become future proof — and this is only possible through efficient implementation of policies by the government and citizens of Hyderabad.
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