At a time when integrated townships are redefining the contours of urban expansion in India, Reliance MET (Model Economic Township) City in Jhajjar, anchoring Greater Gurugram’s western corridor, has emerged as a benchmark for planned future-ready development. Spearheading this vision is Shrivallabh Goyal, CEO and Whole Time Director, Reliance MET City whose leadership has positioned the township as a magnet for both residential investors and global businesses.

In an insightful conversation, he shares insights on the vision behind MET City and its growing appeal, its emergence as an affordable residential hub, value creation through integrated ecosystem and how MET City is shaping as a high growth destination in the NCR real estate landscape. Excerpts

Vinod Behl    

What’s the vision behind Reliance MET City and how has the township evolved over the years?

The vision behind it was to create a smart, environment-friendly, green sustainable township and it is a matter of pride for us that MET City fulfills the criteria of smart city defined by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), almost meeting 90 percent of the parameters set for the central government’s Smart City Mission.

The MET City has been designed as a live-work-play township with residential development, retail and office spaces and essential physical and  social infrastructure. Also, it is designed to support future industrial and urban growth, bringing together manufacturing, logistics, residential development and commercial infrastructure within a single master-planned eco-system. It supports a range of industrial requirements through free-hold plots, ready-to-move facilities, built-to-suit options and leasing models, enabling businesses to scale up with flexibility.

The township spread across planned area of 8250 acres, is evolving as per our vision as a high potential investment and employment hub (enabling 40000 plus jobs). With its diversified eco-system, MET City today   hosts 650 plus global manufacturers across sectors such as auto and auto components, electrical and electronics, plastics, packaging, machinery and tools, apparel and textiles among others. 

What truly sets MET City apart? 

What sets MET City apart from a standard corridor is robust self-sustained physical and social infrastructure. Core utilities include a 220 KV GIS substation, 100 MLD water allocation (50 MLD facility already established) and tech-enabled city operations, supporting long-term reliability and growth. Strong social infrastructure in the form of hospital, school, fire brigade station, wellness centres, city club, convention centre and upcoming hotel is another USP. Ready plug and play ecosystem enable immediate operations of industrial units.  Community foundation that has already been built, is contributing to the economic and social upliftment of villages around MET City. Long running community programme across surrounding villages of Jhajjar for close to two decades, is covering lakhs of people through healthcare, education and livelihood.

Another major differentiation is that MET City township is IGBC Platinum certified, mirroring our commitment to sustainable future-ready development. A Japanese Industrial Township (JIT) within MET City housing about a dozen leading Japanese companies stands apart as the only one in Haryana. As a result of all the unique features, MET City has emerged as the fastest habitated colony. We have created a model of a smart sustainable integrated city that can be replicated anywhere. 

Infrastructure and connectivity serve as a major growth driver. How is it helping MET City in its fast growth?

MET City which is strategically located on the Delhi-NCR growth corridor, offers strong connectivity through NH 48, KMP Expressway, Dwarka Expressway, Dedicated Freight Corridor and Indira Gandhi International Airport which is about one hour drive. The Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor is a big booster in providing rail-based regional connectivity for MET City, bringing the area into NCR’s larger freight and passenger network. Further, the planned Gati Shakti Modal cargo Terminal in the corridor, promises logistics edge to the region.

NHAI’s 6-lane stretch underconstruction from Pataudi Road to Jhajjar will further give MET City a connectivity edge by easing commercial movement. The Gurugram-Farrukh Nagar Road widening project is set to improve last mile access from Gurugram. The doubling of Garhi Harsaru-Farrukh Nagar rail line and its extension into Jhajjar will help raise both freight and passanger capacity along this stretch. All these infrastructure projects will catapult MET City to a next growth corridor in Gurugram region.. 

At a time when affordable housing has taken a beating, MET City is being developed as an affordable housing hub . Comment

In MET City, we have earmarked two sectors- Sector 8 and Sector 2, as part of our   residential development. In these sectors, we offered affordable residential plots in the 100-180 sq yard sizes. In Sector 8, spread over 500 acre, 3000 plots were offered whereas in Sector 2, 550 plots were offered. These housing plots were offered at a price of INR 25000 per sq yard. Ever since September 2023 when residential plots were handed over in Sector 8, about 25% plots have been constructed. Going forward, our residential development will also include a villa community-Habitat, with 100 plots of higher sizes. We are consciously creating a balance between end-users and investors.

What kind of investment has gone into MET City and what value creation has been done ?  

We have already done investment worth INR 10000 crore while INR 20000 crore-25000 crore of investment has been made by the industry. Talking of value creation, our prime location and excellent connectivity is a trigger for value creation. Our future-ready infra has also strengthened real estate values. Moreover, we have adopted ESG standards including  water management, renewable energy and efficient waste management systems. ESG serves as a value enhancer for investors.  We have created a healthy environment with green open spaces to enhance wellness quotient which is evident from low AQI ( half of Gurugram) in MET City This is also contributing to premium valuation. 

The value creation can well be measured through price appreciation. In the residential segment, plots sold at the rate of INR 25000 per sq ft, have appreciated 4 times over the last 5 years. The industrial plots have appreciated 6-7 times over the last 6-7 years. Full potential however, will be realized in the next 10-15 years.

Haryana government has announced its flagship ‘Make in Haryana Industrial Policy 2026, with 10 subset policies with a view to attract 5 lakh crores of investment. What impact of this incentivized policy you foresee on the industrial growth in the region?

The state government review its policy every five years. We also gave our inputs/suggestions to the government. Though I have not studied the details of the policy, I can however say that the provisions of  this new industrial policy will broadly speed up industrial development in the region. 

Earlier, the policy of the state government revolved around creating industrial infrastructure through government agencies like Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC). But this policy had a major drawback that both physical and social infrastructure lacked and even the deficient infrastructure created by the government agency was not properly maintained. In our township, the basic focus is on developing state of the art enabling infrastructure for the industry.

But now with the new industrial policy promising faster clearances, higher subsidies and support for local hiring, the Haryana government has realized the significance of private developers in creating world class industrial infrastructure. This incentivized industrial policy will help boost industrialization in the state. It will also support the flagship mission of the Modi government to make India a developed nation by 2025, by raising the share of manufacturing in GDP to minimum 25%.