(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily of Reuters)
New Delhi’s Connaught Place is home to the fourth-most expensive office space in the world, ahead of such usual suspects as New York and Tokyo. If you’re one of the people who has to walk through it every day, the one question you’d ask yourself is: why?
The occupancy cost in Connaught Place is $162 per square foot, compared to $156 per square foot for Tokyo’s central business district in fifth place, according to an annual survey released by global real estate service firm Cushman & Wakefield. In New York city’s Midtown, the equivalent cost is $128.85. (London is most expensive, $262 per square foot, which includes taxes and charges for cleaning and other services)
Renamed Rajiv Chowk after the former Indian prime minister who was assassinated in 1991, Delhi’s central business district houses many banks, media companies and insurance companies, which contribute to the demand for modern office space. (The Reuters Delhi bureau is here too)
“This is largely because there is extremely limited supply that is suitable for prominent and established companies in the heart of the city, close to the seat of the national government,” says Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield.
