Dharavi redevelopment plan gets another extension after tepid response

The deadline for receiving tenders for the ambitious Dharavi redevelopment plan has again been extended following a tepid response. The original deadline of December 29 was extended till January 8, and this has now received another week’s extension till January 15. While 15-20 top developers from around the country participated in the pre-bidding meetings organised by the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, only one bidder actually submitted a tender.

However, housing experts have said that the reason behind this tepid response is a weak real estate market and the politics of Dharavi, meaning that even further extensions are unlikely to be met with great enthusiasm.

Global tenders for selecting a lead partner in the Dharavi redevelopment plan were floated in November. The base price was set at Rs 3,150 crore, which is separate from a Rs 400 crore equity for the special purpose vehicle (SPV).

The redevelopment of Dharavi is expected to cost above Rs 20,000 crore, but the base price for the tender is still Rs 3,150 crore. A senior official from the project team said, “The current market condition isn’t very conducive and hence the low response.”

Housing expert Dr Sanjay Chaturvedi said, “Builders are aware of the problem. They will face the problem of selling redevelopment flats from Dharavi. Also, the politics involved within Dharavi is a major deterrent. Hence, the low response.”

Once the redevelopment comes through, 350 sq.ft tenements will be given to the slum dwellers. Dharavi is spread over 240 hectares of land and is centrally located. It’s close to Bandra Kurla Complex, the financial hub of Mumbai. The floated tender talks about this, as also the area’s proximity to public transport, railway stations, Metro stations, airport, etc. It also makes note of accessibility to the Bandra Worli Sea-Link and the Trans-Harbour link that’s being constructed