Part of Wadala plot where tower was planned to be offered to pvt developer; can build 80 storeys Unusually high Floor Space Index (FSI) in the commercial districts of Bandra Kurla Complex and Nariman Point is nothing new. But the MMRDAs offer of an FSI of 19.8 to private developers on a plot of 25,000 square metres part of the 14 hectares in Wadala where the agency had planned an iconic 101-storey tower is an unprecedented high. Plans for the MMRDA-owned iconic tower have now been shelved. It has been decided that part of the land will be leased to a private developer,who can use the FSI offer to build a tower over 80 storeys high. The tower plan,which had come under criticism from some quarters that it showed the skewed priorities of the planning agency,would have generated a steady revenue of Rs 1,800 crore every year for the government body. But under the new plan,the MMRDA would get a one-time sum of around Rs 2,500 crore at the rate of Rs 4,647 per sq ft of built-up area charged to the developer. The agency will start sale of bid documents on Monday. The 46-hectare Wadala Truck Terminal land,for which MMRDA is the planning agency,has a global FSI of 4 wherein FSI from open,unused plots can be allotted as additional FSI to a plot under development. MMRDA officials state that the change in pattern was forced by feeble response from developers when the agency started its plan to construct the 101-storey tower. In mid 2008,the agency had called for pre-qualification bids from developers interested in developing the tower and the Inter-state bus terminal at Wadala on a design,build,own,operate and transfer (DBOOT) basis. Back then,two firms were in the fray,Reliance Infrastructure and Essar Group. The developer would have recovered the cost of construction as well as earned a profit by leasing out the tower for a few years. But ownership of the tower would have eventually been transferred to the MMRDA and served as a source of revenue.
