Near shipping hub, a ghost city

Offering space for 532 offices, the towering multi-storey complex was designed to be a Port Users Building —an official base for shipping liners, customs house agents, etc.

But nine years later, the project, like others in the area, has failed miserably. Today, the ghost complex only houses two occupants: a photocopy shop and an office for port workers.

‘‘Although 38 buyers remain invested, there are only two regular occupants,’’ admitted a CIDCO official, adding that the project was expected to fetch a return investment of Rs 70 or 75 crore.

While CIDCO claims the property bust in the ’90s is to blame for the lack of buyer interest, insiders say faulty planning and poor marketing are the real reasons.

‘‘The PUB constructed by JNPT in 1990 is fully occupied. CIDCO took ages to construct its PUB, and by the time it opened, users had already moved to our building,’’ said a JNPT officer.

‘‘The Dronagiri project was based on models like Vashi, Kharghar and Panvel and other Navi Mumbai cities. It was supposed to supplement the increasing port activities,’’ says D.P. Samant, chief planner, CIDCO.

Its inconvenient location—unlike the JNPT PUB which is just outside the port—and the port’s shift from bulk consignments to container trade are other reasons for its failure, say senior CIDCO officers.

‘‘Plus, unlike the JNPT building which has been rented out, CIDCO demanded an upfront ownership,’’ said the JNPT official.

CIDCO claims it spends Rs 10 lakh every year on maintenance. But Kiran Shivkar, the oldest occupant who runs a photocopy office in the basement, says, ‘‘In the last nine years, I have not seen any maintenance activity.’’

Besides Shivkar and port workers, the only others who enter the complex are the 17 security guards employed by CIDCO and three guards who man the hubs of cellphone service providers.

But there’s hope yet. This July, the CIDCO complex will officially be transferred to Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone Development Company as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), turning it into a duty-free enclave.

CIDCO MD Ashok Sinha is counting on that. ‘‘The office complex will help save time in executing the SEZ project,’’ he said.

If the complex—an addition to the 450 hectares that have been marked for SEZ—attracts companies next year, it could be the biggest trade base in Navi Mumbai. Ironically, this was exactly what CIDCO had hoped it would be a decade ago.