Wadala: Ministry cap dwarfs iconic tower plan

According to MMRDA sources,the Civil Aviation Ministry has capped the height of structures in Wadala area to a maximum of 80 m (30 floors). The developer is looking at the possibility of constructing three to four smaller buildings instead of a skyscraper,MMRDA sources stated. “There would be no iconic tower coming up on the Wadala plot any more,” confirmed MMRDA deputy commissioner AR Wankhede. He explained that even though the plot is nowhere near the funnel area (the airplane take-off and landing zone),any construction over 80 m in Wadala would interfere with the transmission of radar signals to aircraft.

The MMRDA owns a total of 62 hectares of land in Wadala. The agency was to construct an iconic 101-storey tower (531 m high) on its own but later decided to carve out a 25,000-sq-m plot and sell it to a developer who could construct one instead. Eventually,a further leeway was made by allowing the developer to construct a tower higher than 80 storeys (300 m).

The Wadala deal is a first-of-its-kind both in terms of its aggressive pricing and the 19.8 floor space index (FSI) offered on the plot as against the usual FSI of 1.33. This works out to 80 lakh sq ft of saleable area. While realty analysts have raised doubts over the viability of carrying out such massive construction on the plot without being allowed to go higher vertically,a representative from Lodha group said Singapore-based architectural firm Woha is designing its Wadala project based on the stipulated norms. “The project is still at a very nascent stage,so we cannot comment any further but we will be working on the design in keeping with the height restrictions,” he said.

While the developer has already paid Rs 400 crore to the MMRDA as upfront payment for the land,they will soon have to cough up another Rs 200 crore as part of the staggered payment model. Lodha Developers recently had a soft launch for the Wadala project where investors willing to purchase a sizable area in the project were offered rates lower than the prevailing market prices.