The Maharashtra government has placed a bid of Rs 1,400 crore for loss-making Air India’s iconic building at Nariman Point. This is one of the highest bid for the iconic building.
According to Mumbai Mirror, the offer, however, is Rs 200 crore less than the building’s reserve price. Air India has been in a debt of Rs 50,000 crore and that is the very reason the airline put up it’s iconic building at Nariman Point for sale. It had recently asked for an Rs 30,000-crore bailout package from the finance ministry, which was rejected. Sources from Air India told the leading daily that, state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Life Insurance Corporation have also bid Rs 1,375 crore and Rs 1,200 crore, respectively, for the building.
On May 1, at a meeting at Mantralaya, the state chief secretary, UPS Madan, made the offer before Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Kharola and Air India’s Managing Director Ashwani Lohani, as well as placed the government’s terms and conditions for the sale. The government has put forth demands, which says that the entire building should be vacated before occupying it. The state plans to consolidate its offices scattered across the city and operate them from the Air India building.
Madan told the Mumbai Mirror, “We want Air India to see to it that all licensees are being evicted at the end of their agreement period. Also, Air India should not retain any portion of the property.” The state government officials have made it clear that the deal will go through only if the property is vacated completely before handover. The Air India building was the airline’s headquarters till 2013 when it was vacated as part of asset-monetization plans. The headquarters is now in Delhi
