Nagpur e-way: MSRDC puts leasing of plots on hold

A slump in the real-estate sector has hit the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s (MSRDC) plans of monetising its prime plots by raising funds for the

A slump in the real-estate sector has hit the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s (MSRDC) plans of monetising its prime plots by raising funds for the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway. It has decided to put the process of leasing them on hold for some time.

HT Image

The MSRDC, in August 2019, had floated an expression of interest to lease the 1.54-acre prime plot on Nepean Sea Road for 60 years. The plan was to lease pockets of land along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Bandra for raising money.

The Nepean Sea plot was alone valued at ₹550 crore by real-estate experts. However, officials said that at a time when the real-estate sector has hit a low, they would not want to sell off assets at a lower price. Vijay Waghmare, joint managing director, MSRDC, said, “The markets are not favourable as of now. So it would not be the right time to sell the assets at a lower price.” Waghmare also said that the Maharashtra government’s capital investment of ₹3,500 crores has also taken care of the project’s immediate needs.

In December 2019, the government cleared a ₹3,500 crore capital infusion for the project. This was just three months after MSRDC had achieved financial closure for ₹28,000 crore from various financial institutions. Apart from this, MSRDC has also raised equity of ₹5,500 crore from various state agencies.