Maharashtra govt in talks to buy Air India building in Mumbai

The Maharashtra government has initiated discussions with debt-ridden Air India to buy its iconic building located in the Nariman Point area of the city. Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte discussed the cost of the building with Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal. Air India had issued tenders for 23-storey building sales, which stands on the state government land, in 2018, but it failed to evoke a favorable response. Officials of Air India told Kunte that their internal valuation of the building was more than Rs 2,000 crore, to which Kunte asked them to share it with the state government, official sources said. An official told the media that the Air India building has become old. A private party will have to demolish the whole building. The building can be used for another eight to ten years to accommodate some government offices. The building value cannot be more than Rs 2,000 crore. Its actual value would only be the strategic location and the land value. The former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had shown interest in buying the building to house several government offices given its proximity to the state legislature building and the secretariat overseeing the Marine Drive. The official said that Air India approached the then-state government and asked for its participation in the tender. The government wrote to Air India quoting a value of Rs 1,450 crore for the acquisition. Since the government dues from Air India are about Rs 300 crore, the actual cost would have been nearly Rs 1,100 crore to Rs 1,200 crore. Image Source Also read: Air India sold 115 properties at Rs 738 cr since 2015 to offset debt Also read: Air India property auction begins; company targets to raise Rs 270 cr