Govt receives three bids for Dharavi redevelopment

Mumbai: Three bids were received for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project on Tuesday but the names of the firms and their bidding amounts will be disclosed on Wednesday.

The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) had floated the tender for the redevelopment of the area, known for its large slum clusters, on October 1. Eight companies had attended the pre-bid meeting on October 11 and evinced interest in the over- ₹-20,000-crore redevelopment project, including a company from South Korea and one from the UAE. The first deadline for submission of bids on October 31 was extended till November 15.

“We have received three bids. We will open them on Wednesday and announce the names of the bidders,” said S V R Srinivas, who heads the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. Officials said that in the last tender floated, they had received just one application and hence a re-tender had to be issued. This time, things were better, they said.

Bids for the complex urban renewal project have been a problem over the years. In 2016, when the global tender was floated, no bids were received despite five extensions to the deadline. In 2018, only one bid was received, from the Dubai-based Seclink Consortium, forcing the government to extend the deadline before another bid came in from the Adani group. In January 2019, the Seclink Consortium emerged as the highest bidder, but the bid process was eventually scrapped. A fresh tender was floated by the Shiv Sena (BSS) government with several changes in the financial and technical eligibility.

The bids will be evaluated for technical and financial eligibility before awarding the project to the highest bidder. In the ongoing bidding process, only two members are allowed in a consortium with a lead member and a technical member. The lead member of the consortium is expected to have a minimum consolidated net worth of ₹20,000 crore while the technical partner needs to have a minimum net worth of ₹2,000 crore.

According to the bid criteria, the winning bidder has to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), bring in investment of more than ₹1,600 crore and infuse 20 percent of it before signing the development agreement and 20 per cent on submission of an integrated master plan.

According to the timeline approved by the state cabinet and mentioned in the GR issued on September 28, the winning bidder has to establish the SPV company and sign the MoU with the Dharavi Redevelopment Project within 60 days after signing the Letter of Award (LOA). The winning bidder has to deposit 20 percent of the quoted bid amount and sign the development agreement within 90 days from the LOA and deposit an additional 20 percent of the amount in the escrow account within 150 days. The developer also has to commit to completing the rehabilitation, renewal, amenities and infrastructure component within seven years from the issuance of the commencement certificate for Phase I.