Mumbai: Debt-laden Mumbai-based civil engineering company Gammon India Ltd has sold 50 acres of land in Mumbai’s suburban Dombivali to real estate firm Runwal group for around ₹ 230 crore as part of an asset monetization plan, according to two people aware of the development who asked not to be named.
The land, which had been under litigation for a few years, was sold this week, said one of the two persons mentioned above.
In 2014, the Runwal group led by Subodh Runwal, acquired 64 acres in Dombivali for around ₹ 320 crore. The builder has bought another 50 acres in the same vicinity, said the same person mentioned above.
Runwal is planning to develop the land into an integrated township, said the second person mentioned above. Questions emailed to Runwal remained unanswered till the time of going to press.
Gammon India owned nearly 180 acre of land at Dombivali, its subsidiary Metropolitan Infrahousing Pvt Ltd (MIPL) having acquired the land from automobile firm PAL Peugeot in 2011. Gammon India has been looking to sell the land to repay its debt for the past four-five years.
According to a Times of India report on Wednesday, Gammon India has an outstanding debt of around ₹ 7,000 crore. A consortium of banks, including Allahabad Bank and ICICI Bank, have asked regional passport authority in Mumbai to impound the passport of Abhijit Rajan, chairman of Gammon India, according to the report. Spokespersons of Gammon India could not be immediately reached on phone.
Earlier, Gammon India had planned to develop its land plots to raise funds to repay its debts. The company had invited strategic investor to invest in Gammon Real Estate Developers who were to acquire 90% controlling stake and develop the Dombivali land, according to its website.
“Gammon and Runwal were supposed to do a joint venture for the land but Gammon started facing problems,” said the third person mentioned above.
Located on the outskirts of Mumbai, Dombivali is home to some large residential projects, the biggest being Lodha Group’s 4,500-acre Pallava township. According to land brokers around the area, the land price at Dombivali is as low as ₹ 5-6 crore per acre. However, once the land has government approval for development, the price can go up to ₹ 12-15 crore per acre, said a broker who did not want to be identified.
“Other land with no road frontage and no approval can be as low as ₹ 3-5 crore per acre,” the person said.