Adanis, with ₹5,069 crore bid, set to redevelop Dharavi

Mumbai: The Adani Group on Tuesday emerged as the frontrunners to helm one of the country’s largest urban renewal projects, the redevelopment of Dhravai. Their bid of ₹5,069 crores was significantly higher than their competitors.

Dharavi sits on 240 hectares of prime land in the heart of Mumbai and its redevelopment, first proposed formally by the then Congress chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in 2004, involves rehabilitation of more than 60,000 families and 13,000 commercial units in tenements of 405 sq ft. It also entails the developer acquiring 25.62 hectares of private land. A slew of concessions will be provided to the Special Purpose Vehicle formed by the developer apart from the 4 FSI and Transferable Development Rights which could be utilized by the developer anywhere in the city.

Mukesh Mehta, the man who originally set out to redevelop Dharavi way back in 1997, told HT, “It is good that a responsible company will be chosen, and I hope that it does justice to the urban poor and the residents of Dharavi.”

The Adanis, who had lost the bid during the 2019 global tender, had placed a bid for ₹5,069 crore while the DLF group had put in a bid of ₹2025 crore and the third bidder, Shree Naman Group’s bid was rejected on technical grounds. Mumbai-based firm Sandeep Shikre and Associates were the lowest bidder. Unlike in 2018, the Eknath Shinde-led government had floated the global tender on October 1 for the Project Management Consultants along with the main bidders. The base price for the bids was ₹1,600 crore. The Adani Group had bid alone though the norms allowed a consortium to have a lead partner and a technical collaborator.

“The government will now give its approval and take further decisions,” said SVR Srinivas, the Metropolitan Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of Dharavi Redevelopment Authority.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India, believes that the redevelopment of Dharavi bodes well for the city’s future. “Once redeveloped, the area will unlock large land parcels for further commercial and housing mega projects in the city. We can hope to see a significant change in the skyline of Mumbai once this area comes up as per the plans.”

Rajan Bandelkar, national president of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) too welcomed the development, and said, “Adani Group emerging as the highest bidder is a sign that good days are coming back to Mumbai real estate. Unlike Bandra Kurla Complex where multiple developers took up lands auctioned by the MMRDA, and developed the central business district, Adani Group will have the chance to develop the entire Dharavi land in an integrated manner, and it will definitely be a better cluster (than BKC),” he said.

Though the project might take the next 15 years to complete, it could set an example for large-scale slum redevelopment globally, said Bhavin Thakker, MD, Mumbai & Head - Cross Border Tenant Advisory, Savills India. “Mumbai will finally be rid of the stigma of being home to one of Asia’s largest slums,” said NAREDCO vice-chairman Niranjan Hiranandani. “The composite development will redefine the real estate landscape in Mumbai and help the city regain its commercial capital status.”