News roundup: Delhi Mumbai Expressway status updates, and other headlines

For PropertyGuru’s real estate news roundup, be updated with the latest status of the Delhi Mumbai Expressway, including its completion date. In other headlines, the Kingdom of Bhutan will develop a new Mindfulness City that will be a sustainable one, while Singapore offers a unique accommodation – a decommissioned SMRT train carriage transformed into a boutique co-living hotel.

Delhi Mumbai Expressway: Route, completion date and status

To link the two economic hubs of the country, the government of India planned the Delhi Mumbai Expressway, a 1,380-km controlled-access highway, which would cut down the travel time between the two major cities from 24 hours to 12 hours. The foundation stone for the project was laid in March 2019 and is expected to be completed by December 2024.

According to Housing.com, the eight-lane Delhi Mumbai expressway will cover the Delhi Mumbai distance by passing through five states and several greenfield sites, which will be developed into warehousing hubs.

To address vehicular pollution concerns, the government also plans to build a separate e-highway on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway that will allow commercial vehicles like trucks and buses to move at a speed of 120 kmph. The e-highway is also expected to reduce the logistics costs in the country by 70 percent.

The Delhi Mumbai expressway, which will be India’s largest greenfield expressway, is near completion. The country now has a network of over 1.40 lakh kilometres of national highways as against 90,000 kilometres in March 2014.

Landscape architects lead Bhutan’s Mindfulness City

“The Mindfulness City will be a sustainable city. To be mindful is to be aware — to perform best,” said Giulia Frittoli, partner and head of landscape at BIG.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked Buddhist country in the eastern Himalayas, nestled between China and India. It covers 14,000 square miles and has a population of nearly 800,000.

The Royal Office of Bhutan asked BIG, Arup, and Cistri to develop a plan for a new Mindfulness City in Gelephu in southern Bhutan, near the border with India. The city will span 386 square miles and include a new international airport, railway connections, hydroelectric dam, university, spiritual center, and public spaces.

“This site was selected because it is one of the flatest areas of Bhutan,” according to Frittoli. The site was also chosen to minimize impact on the forest, which covers 70 percent of the country, making the country a biodiversity hotspot.

“Bhutan has this extra respect for nature. Forests are protected in its constitution,” Frittoli said in ArchDaily. And the site’s flat character enables Bhutan to build a new airport. “As an international gateway, it is an ideal location.”

Fancy staying in an SMRT train? Tiny Pod’s new co-living hotel is set to open in Singapore this September

Why take the train home when you can live in one? A decommissioned SMRT train carriage is set to be transformed into a boutique co-living hotel.

Developed by local startup Tiny Pod, with the support of the JTC Corporation, this will be Singapore’s first-ever co-living train hotel, said Tiny Pod and JTC in a joint press release last 11th April, according to a CNA report.

Renovation works for the eight-room train hotel, hosted by LaunchPad @ one-north, started in March. And come September, it will be operational, stationed at the car park next to Block 69 Ayer Rajah Crescent.

Guests can expect an attached bathroom equipped to each room, as well as LCD panels mounted inside the driver’s compartment to depict real-life footage of the train’s earlier journey through the tunnel.

A public recreational green space, which will have vending machines, bicycle racks, and repurposed train chairs as outdoor public benches, will also be developed beside the train hotel.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].