Panvel is located in Raigad district of Maharashtra, around 22 km from Mumbai, just after the Thane border. The city is about 300 years old, and was built as a tradecentre by the Mughals with trade routes developed on land and sea. It was later ruled by the Marathas, followed by the British and the Portuguese. It is popularly known as ‘The Gateway to Konkan Region’.

Once famous for its rice market, this historic town is divided into three parts—Old Panvel Town, New Panvel (East) and New Panvel (West). Panvel is also a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to the Elephanta Caves—a UNESCO World Heritage site, Karjat (a hill station), Karnala Bird Sanctuary, Haji Malang, Prabal Gad, the Raigadh Fort and the temples of Ballaleshwar Pali.

Panvel is well connected to all the major cities by road and rail. The Mumbai-Goa Highway (NH17) and NH-4B start from Panvel. The Sion- Panvel Expressway provides easy connectivity to Pune, a favoured weekend destination due to its pleasant weather. Panvel also has a direct link to the Mumbai- Bangalore National Highway. Besides, Panvel is the only mainline station and also the busiest railway station of Navi Mumbai. It is also one of the most important junctions on the Konkan Railway. The Harbour line from Mumbai CST, the central line from Diva/Karjat, the western freight corridor from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Konkan railway line from Mangalore meet at Panvel.

The city also has several recreational places like the Panoramic Resort and Water Park and shopping malls such as Inorbit Mall, K Mall and Haiko Mall. The upcoming IndiaBulls Mega Mall is expected to witness a captive footfall of over 10,000 families.

Development push

Panvel Municipal Council is the development authority for Panvel and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) looks after New Panvel. Although Panvel has mostly been the abode of middle-class families, the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is set to alter Panvel’s future. According to CIDCO, once the airport is fully operational by 2019, it will aim for an annual passenger capacity of 60 million.

Furthermore, the metro corridor from Panvel to the eastern and western suburbs of Greater Mumbai via NMIA, by connecting to lines M-1 (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar) and M-2 (Charkop-Bandra- Mankhurd) of the Mumbai Metro at Mankhurd, would improve connectivity. Panvel’s close proximity to JNPT, the dedicated freight corridor (DFC) and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) could transform the business and logistics scenario for west and north India.

In 2011, Bahrain-based investment bank Gulf Finance House entered into a partnership with Mumbai-based realtor Wadhwa Group to develop an integrated township at Panvel, which will be implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority. As part of the project, three cities—Energy City, Information Technology and Telecom City, and Entertainment City— will be developed at Panvel. On completion, the project will house around 1.5 lakh residents and is expected to offer direct employment to over 2.5 lakh people and indirect employment to 7.5 lakh people. There is also an SEZ logistics park in the offing. Companies such as Larsen & Toubro, Reliance, Hindustan Organics Chemicals, ONGC and IPCL are based around Panvel, offering mass employment.

Godrej Properties, Kalpataru, India Bulls Realty, Hiranandani Builders and Omkar Developers are some of the real estate developers present here.

Panvel is a good option for long-term investors with its major infrastructure developments, which have led to the radical expansion of both residential and commercial property for investment purposes.

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