78 real estate giants queue up to revamp Dharavi

For a slice of a Mumbai slum8217;s real estate and to grab a seat alongside those riding the financial capital8217;s next promised boom...

For a slice of a Mumbai slum8217;s real estate and to grab a seat alongside those riding the financial capital8217;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 response was much better than expected: A total of 26 consortia, considerably more than the SRA8217;s own target of 15.

A Malaysian firm joined hands with Mumbai-based Kalpataru and those who built Magarpatta City. In the fine-print 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 Hiranandani8217;s townships in Mumbai suburbs Powai and Thane, DLF8217;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 Mumbai8217;s Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd HDIL, the real estate arm of the Wadhawan Group.

8220;It8217;s the power of India,8221; said Anuj Puri of real estate consultants Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. 8220;Everybody wants to be part of the economy and it8217;s the vitality.8221;

Every real estate major in the country features in the list of the 78 companies8212;HDIL, Mukesh Ambani8217;s Reliance Industries Ltd, Lanco Infrastructure, Kalpataru, L038; T, Oberoi, Unitech, Videocon, Sobha Developers, Indiabulls, Orchid and Shapoorji Pallonji.

8220;The response has been tremendous,8221; 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. 8220;The world is watching us.8221;

Mumbai8217;s high-value real estate market is certain to offer good returns. Only last week, a South Mumbai property deal shook the record books. Dharavi8217;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.

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In Dharavi itself, after months of having globe-trotting journalists thrusting microphones and cameras at them, nothing much changed on Thursday. 8220;Much of the opposition is for want of accurate information,8221; said Chandrashekhar, calling it a sensitive project that needed 8220;a human touch8221; in its execution.

8220;We are tackling that shortly. And if there are genuine problems, we will certainly sort them out too.8221; Following scrutiny, the committee of secretaries headed by Chief Secretary Johny Joseph will prepare a shortlist by the end of September, he added.