India’s tallest building will come up in one of it’s longest cities!

Keeping in mind the space crunch in India’s financial capital, the Nitin Gadkari-led Shipping Ministry is mulling over the construction of a towering ‘business district’ on the Mumbai port Trust land. It is an initiative by the ministry to monetize the asset and develop it as India’s tallest commercial building.

Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India told The Economic Times, "It will be a 130-storey building and will house mostly offices along with other amenities. We are working on the plan and it's still in initial stages.”

Interestingly, this ambitious project that may cost more than Rs 10,000 crore is unlikely to receive any financial help from the government. In fact, it will be financed with the funds raised from the pre-booking of space from public and private sector units.

The sky-high building would be constructed in the surrounding area of Nariman Point, the fort area in South Mumbai that was once considered as Mumbai’s leading business district. However, the exact location and contours of the project are yet to be finalized. The ministry is engaging an international consultant to prepare the blueprint for the project.

A senior government official, requesting anonymity, informed that a separate master plan for the port land would be prepared and this building would be a part of it.

If sources are to be believed, the government might undertake the project on its own and the land won’t be given to the private builders for any kind of redevelopment.

"If the logistics issues of evacuation of people without stressing the cargo-laden port roads are addressed, the proposed 130-storey building will have a demonstrative effect on a mechanism for monetising land assets owned by ports," said Jaijit Bhattacharya, Partner-Infrastructure at KPMG.

Image: Reuters