The Maharashtra government has initiated discussions with Air India to purchase its iconic building located in the Nariman Point area of the city. Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte discussed the valuation of the building with Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal on Tuesday.
When contacted on Wednesday, Kunte told sources, “discussions are going on. The debt-ridden Air India had floated tenders for the sale of the 23-storey building, which stands on the state government land, in 2018, but it failed to evoke a good response. Air India officials told Kunte that their internal valuation of the building was more than Rs 2,000 crore to which Kunte asked them to share it with the state government, official sources said.
“The Air India building has become old. A private party will have to demolish the entire structure. We can use it for another eight to ten years to accommodate some government offices. The building cost cannot be over Rs 2,000 crore. Its actual cost would only be the strategic location and the land cost,” an official who attended the meeting on Tuesday told sources.
