19 short-listed for Dharavi project

Nineteen consortiums involving the who’s who of corporate India have been short-listed after technical scrutiny by a committee of secretaries to redevelop Asia’s biggest slum, Dharavi.

A total of 27 consortiums had submitted their bids after the government announced the Rs9,250 crore project under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, now headed by Dr T Chandrashekhar as the chief executive officer.

The Indian partners of the 19 consortiums are Reliance Engineering Associates (Mukesh Ambani), Indiabulls, Unitech Ltd, DLF, Godrej Properties, Africa-Israel Investments Ltd, L&T Ltd, Videocon Realty, Kingston Properties, Runwal Developers, MRMGF (a joint venture of Indian and Dubai-based companies), Goenka’s Conwood Group of Companies, Kalpataru, Lanco Infrastructure, Nagarjuna Construction Company, Housing Development and Infastructure Ltd (HDIL), the Lodha Group, Akruti Developers, and Neptune Investments.

The scrutiny of technical bids was conducted by a committee  headed by Chief Secretary Johny Joseph. A Mantralaya source  said every Indian company in the process has taken a foreign partner. 

Now, the 19 selected consortiums will submit financial proposals, of which five will be selected for project implementation, the source said. Financial bids have been invited by the end of January. The final selection will be done in March.

The eight consortiums whose bids were rejected are TCG Urban Infrastructure, Simplex Infrastructure, Shapoorji Pallonji, Utech Developers, Shreenaman Developers, GVK Power and Infrastructure, Poorvankara Projects, and Shobha Developers.

Under the Dharavi redevelopment plan prepared by MM Consultants, there would be five sprawling residential sectors with an industrial zone, educational and health institutions, and recreational facilities.