IE : 78 real estate giants queue up to revamp Dharavi : Aug 31, 2007
78 real estate giants queue up to revamp Dharavi
KAVITHA IYER
MUMBAI, AUGUST 30
F OR a slice of a Mumbai slum’s real estate and to grab a seat alongside
those riding the financial capital’s next promised boom, 78 companies
including the big daddies of global real estate are vying to participate in
the proposed redevelopment of Dharavi.
As the last of the Expressions of Interest came in on Thursday evening,
those at the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) of the Government of
Maharashtra were mildly shocked to find 25 foreign players among the
bidders, from as far apart as West Asia and Malaysia. The re sponse was much
better than expected: A total of 26 consortia, considerably more than the
SRA’s own target of 15.
A Malaysian firm joined hands with Mumbai-based Kalpataru and those who
built Magarpatta City. In the fineprint detailing the 100 acres of township
construction and 70 million sq ft of built-up space required for the
consortia to pre-qualify, the success stories were just as disparate: Emaar
from Dubai, the Hiranandani’s townships in Mumbai suburbs Powai and Thane,
DLF’s Gurgaon model along with Akruti, which has done dozens of Mumbai slum
redevelopment buildings. There was also New York-based equity investment
firm Lehman Brothers partnering Mumbai’s Housing Development and
Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), the real estate arm of the Wadhawan Group.
“It’s the power of India,” said Anuj Puri of real estate consultants Jones
Lang LaSalle Meghraj. “Everybody wants to be part of the economy and it’s
the vitality.”
Every real estate major in the country features in the list of the 78
companies-HDIL, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd, Lanco
Infrastructure, Kalpataru, L& T, Oberoi, Unitech, Videocon, Sobha
Developers, Indiabulls, Orchid and Shapoorji Pallonji.
“The response has been tremendous,” said Dr T Chandrashekhar, chief of the
Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority and officer on special
duty for the Rs 9,250-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project. “The world is
watching us.”
Mumbai’s high-value real estate market is certain to offer good returns.
Only last week, a South Mumbai property deal shook the record books.
Dharavi’s own real estate will match prices with Nariman Point and Bandra
Kurla Complex, said Puri, simply because demand outstrips supply so widely
for corporates wanting hundreds of thousands of quality commercial and
office space to set up headquarters. Needless to say, apart from the
rehabilitation tenements, much of the new Dharavi will be commercial space.
In Dharavi itself, after months of having globe-trotting journalists
thrusting microphones and cameras at them, nothing much changed on Thursday.
“Much of the opposition is for want of accurate information,” said
Chandrashekhar, calling it a sensitive project that needed “a human touch”
in its execution.
“We are tackling that shortly. And if there are genuine problems, we will
certainly sort them out too.” Following scrutiny, the committee of
secretaries headed by Chief Secretary Johny Joseph will prepare a shortlist
by the end of September, he added.
Publication : IE; Pg : 1; Date : 31/08/07
URL :
http://70.86.150.130/indianexpress/ArticleText.aspx?article=31_08_2007_004_002