MTNL sells BKC leasehold rights to Nabard for ₹350.72 crore

The 2,680 sq m plot, located in BKC’s GN Block, houses a building with a built-up area of 4,021.43 sq m

Mumbai: The cash-strapped Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has sold the leasehold rights of its prime property in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) for ₹350.72 crore, according to transaction documents accessed by HT. The deal, part of the government-owned telecom company’s asset monetisation plan, was formalised earlier this month.

A file photo of Nabard headquarters in Mumbai.

The 2,680 sq m plot, located in BKC’s GN Block, houses a building with a built-up area of 4,021.43 sq m. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had originally leased the land to MTNL in April 1998 for 80 years. MTNL has now transferred the remaining 52 years of the lease to Nabard.

MTNL approved the transaction in December 2025, following which MMRDA signed off on it in February 2026, said officials aware of the development.

The sale is part of MTNL’s broader effort to monetise non-core assets as it grapples with mounting financial stress. The public sector telecom firm’s debt has crossed ₹36,000 crore, according to reports, while its subscriber base has sharply declined from 5.83 million in 2012 to just 81,337 as of March 2026, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data.

After defaulting on repayments to several banks in recent years, MTNL has increasingly turned to monetising its real estate portfolio, which includes office spaces, residential flats and land parcels in prime locations across Mumbai and Delhi.

In January, HT reported that MTNL had put several Mumbai properties on the block, including assets in Kemps Corner and Andheri West. At Kemps Corner, the telecom company sought to auction seven shops and two parking spaces in the White Hall building, with a combined built-up area of 3,123.9 sq ft and a reserve price of ₹82,301 per sq ft. It also listed a 237-sq-ft studio apartment in the Raheja Classique 1 building in Andheri West at a reserve price of ₹70.75 lakh, or ₹29,853 per sq ft.

Nabard is one of several public sector organisations looking to expand their presence in BKC. In 2025, MMRDA allotted a 4,000 sq m plot in the central business district to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for approximately ₹800 crore.

The National Stock Exchange of India also recently secured two additional plots from MMRDA in BKC for ₹1,684.31 crore. The Bombay Stock Exchange, too, has approached the development authority to expand its presence from south Mumbai’s Dalal Street to the business district.