Suspense over bids for Bandra Reclamation project

As the last date for submission of bids, February 6, draws closer, suspense over the number of developers bidding for the development of the prestigious 24-acre sprawl at Bandra Reclamation is building up.

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) officials are tightlipped about the process and maintain that they have no clue how many big builders are participating.

“The bids have been made on the website ‘Maha Tender’ over which we have no control. We will know the exact status on Tuesday when an officer will open the bids,” said Kailas Jadhav, joint managing director, MSRDC.

Another official told The Free Press Journal that only after the bids are opened “will we know the response. And if it is poor, we will have to go back to our consultant JLL to see whether we need to modify the criteria”. For the moment, MSRDC is keeping its fingers crossed and hoping the bidding process will attract technically and financially strong bidders.

Several developers and their representatives who had attended the pre-bid meet hosted a fortnight ago by JLL, a global property consultant for MSRDC, to discuss the bid process had questioned the eligibility norms in the tendering process.

Some top builders had alleged that MSRDC was favouring “one or two big developers” and that the bids were “tailor-made for a select few”. “The biggest of us will find it difficult to meet these norms. Imposing a financial criterion to have Rs15,000 crore net worth in one single entity is restricting the opportunity to one or two builders,” a top builder had said. Another builder added that the norms are stringent because the developer is expected to pay Rs8,000 crore to MSRDC over a period of nine to 14 years.

Following queries raised by the builders, MSRDC had held a meeting on January 25 to discuss the issue. After a session, it had taken a call not to relax or change the tender bid norms and eligibility criteria. “We have examined every query and have come to the conclusion that our process is strong, and on track. There is no need for any changes,” the vice chairman and managing director, Anil Kumar Gaikwad, had told the FPJ.

As of now the financial criterion of Rs15,000 crore net worth in one single entity will remain, a top MSRDC officer told The FPJ. Gaikwad maintained that the single entity criterion was mandatory. “We will not allow joint venture options because our experience with JVs in the past has been bad. One party is always weak and we are looking for financially and technically strong developers who will be able to undertake a project of this magnitude and scale and be able to complete it on time,” he said.

According to Gaikwad, since this is a revenue sharing model, the developer will have to pay Rs8,000 crore and also develop 50,000 square feet of office space and hand it over to MSRDC. Plus the GST will have to be borne by him, he said. Regarding concerns raised by activists about MSRDC monetising vast open public spaces, Gaikwad maintained, “We are strictly going by the DC rules. Our consultant JLL has informed us that it is possible and well within the framework of the regulations for us to monetise this 24-acre plot and that we can come up with residential and commercial units here. We are following the norms.” A top officer, however, clarified that there were reservations for a cemetery and a promenade – a public walk that will remain. “We will be making provisions for these,” he said.

MSRDC officials say entire picture will be clear once bids are opened on February 6; it is alleged that tender is tailor-made for a select few