mumbai

Updated: Aug 27, 2019 03:33 IST

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) plans to lease out prime plots in south Mumbai, Bandra and along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to raise funds for the Rs55,332-crore Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, which is widely seen as chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ pet project.

The corporation has already invited an expression of interest (EOI) for leasing out a 1.54-acre land parcel at Nepean Sea Road for 60 years. The market value of the plot, according to real estate experts, is around Rs550 crore. MSRDC plans to follow a similar process to lease out land in Bandra and along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in the future.

The monies generated will be offered to a consortium of nationalised banks – led by the State Bank of India (SBI) – as collateral. MSRDC is looking to raise Rs28,000 crore as loan from the consortium, as so far, it has been able to mop up only Rs15,000 crore through loans.

“Given the current market conditions, we have floated an EOI to assess the response. We will float bids based on the response,” Vijay Waghmare, joint managing director, MSRDC said.

A senior official, who did not wish to be named, said the corporation was hoping to complete the process of raising Rs28,000 crore from the banks by August 30. The agency will be paying interest at the rate 9.5 per cent on the loans raised from the banks.

Hindustan Times had reported in September last year how the planning agency was struggling to secure funds for the ambitious project and had decided to mortgage its land assets as collateral. The report had said that besides the Nepean Sea Road plot, around 29 acres in Bandra and nearly 1,000 acres along Mumbai-Pune expressway could get mortgaged.

The 702-km-long, eight-lane Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities from 16 hours to 8-10 hours.

The opposition, however, has questioned the funding of the project. Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said the government must come clear on its funding pattern for big-ticket projects. “The government must explain their move of leasing these assets to raise funds. They must also provide clarity on the funding pattern of each of the metro and road projects being undertaken,” said Nirupam.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is executing Metro projects worth Rs1 lakh crore, had recently leased out a plot in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) for Rs2,238 crore for 80 years to raise funds for the Metro projects. The authority is looking at leasing out two more plots in BKC to raise more funds.