Delhi's Connaught Place is world's 4th most expensive office location

New Delhi, Feb 21: Connaught Place, located in the heart of the national capital, ranks 4th in the list of most expensive office locations in the world, according to latest report from property consultant Cushman and Wakefield.In 2011 ranking, Connaught Place was at fifth position. “New Delhi's Connaught Place has emerged as world's 4th most expensive office location gaining one position over last year,” Cushman and Wakefield said in a statement.Connuaght place has an occupancy cost of USD 162 per sq ft annually, according to C&W's annual survey that has ranked locations across 63 countries to compare the most expensive office destination across the world.London's West End emerged as the world's most expensive office market with an annual occupancy cost of USD 262 per sq ft, regaining its position from Hong Kong's Central Business District (CBD) in a gap of five years.Zona Sul in Rio de Janerio (Brazil) has jumped to third position from 8th in 2011 ranking, while the CBDs of Tokyo (Japan), Moscow (Russia) and Beijing (China) are at fifth, sixth and seventh positions.New York's Mid Town ranks eighth, and CBDs of Sydney (Australia) and Paris (France) are at 9th an 10th positions.“New Delhi, Connaught Place, which emerged as the 4th most expensive office space in the world, registered a growth of approximately 25 per cent in rental values over the last year, to charge Rs 403 per sq ft per month,” C&W said.The demand for quality space in Connaught place is high considering that it is one of the oldest established office centres in India with proximity to other establishments like government organisations, trading centres and retail location, the consultant noted.“Also gaining from the fact that there is limited supply of quality office space in the vicinity adds to its attractiveness,” it added.The fresh supply in Connaught Place is essentially due to redevelopments and renovations of existing buildings which have been commanding premium, it said. “Majority of the demand for office space is still being serviced by Connaught Place as the location has other support socio-political infrastructure. Limited quality corporate office space in Connaught Place has fuelled the northward march of the rental values,” Cushman & Wakefield South Asia Executive Managing Director Sanjay Dutt said.The new master plan for New Delhi by the Delhi Development Authority has not provisioned for any rapid growth of office space within the city leaving very limited choice, he added.Within Asia Pacific, the report said that Indian cities captured top positions in the largest rental growth chart, with New Delhi ranking 2nd—recording an rental escalation of 25 per cent over last year.Chennai CBD saw the 3rd highest rental growth in Asia followed by Bengaluru CBD at 5th position, Pune CBD at 7th and Kolkata CBD at 8th showing positive annual rental growth over previous years.