The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) paid 3,471.82 crore for the 4.16-acre plot in Nariman Point owned by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC).
Key Highlights
- RBI acquires a 4.16‐acre Nariman Point plot from MMRCL for ₹3,472 crore to build office complex.
- Deal priced 50% above market valuation; includes buildable area 1.6 million sq. ft., rehab mandated.
In October 2024, the metro rail body, which is responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the 33.5-kilometer Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ metro line, invited global bids for the plot. It had hired an international property consultant to attract private investors, and companies including the Tata Group, Blackstone Group, Sumitomo Corporation, RMZ Group, and Oberoi Realty had expressed interest. However, all of this was for naught when the RBI demonstrated its willingness to pursue a government-to-government acquisition.
The global bid had a reserve price of ₹5,173 crore, but the RBI was given a 90-year lease on the land for a much lower sum of ₹3,471.82 crore. The land parcel's sale was formally registered on September 5, according to documents obtained from CRE Matrix, a real estate data analytics firm. The RBI has been looking for South Mumbai office space with a minimum area of 30,000 square feet for the past four years.
Of the permitted buildable area of 1.6 million sq ft, 1,13,500 sq ft must be allocated to rehouse the structures that occupied the land prior to 2017. This includes political party offices, which were relocated to Ballard Estate to allow for work on the Vidhan Bhavan metro station.
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A portion of the proceeds from the transaction will be used to repay MMRC's debt to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which was borrowed for the construction of the underground metro line. JICA funded ₹21,280 crore, or 57.09%, of the revised cost of ₹37,276 crore for the 33.5-km metro.
"₹3,470-crore acquisition of the 4.16-acre Nariman Point plot by the Reserve Bank of India is a watershed moment in India's real estate landscape," stated Abhishek Kiran Gupta, CEO & Co-Founder of CRE Matrix. "With nearly 1.6 million sq ft of buildable potential—including 1,13,500 sq ft set aside for rehabilitation—this government-to-government transaction not only strengthens Nariman Point's position as Mumbai's commercial core, but also establishes a new standard for premium land consolidation. Such marquee transactions, which are uncommon even in global markets, demonstrate deep institutional confidence in Mumbai's long-term value as the country's financial hub."
