Mumbai property rates may weigh on Air India building sale

The sale of the iconic Air India building at Mumbai’s tony Nariman Point neighbourhood could fetch ? 600-700 crore, real estate consultants said, far below the price the 23-storeyed building could have fetched a decade ago. Nariman Point, once among the world’s costliest office locations, has lost its sheen as more and more companies move to the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). Property rates stand at ? 28,000 to ? 32,000 per square foot, depending on buildings, for purchase at Nariman Point. At BKC, the rates are ? 32,000 to ? 35,000 per square foot. The property rates at Nariman Point, before the financial crisis a decade ago, stood at over ? 50,000 per square foot. The government has started discussions for the sale of the Air India building to the country’s biggest container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as part of efforts to raise funds for the cash-strapped national carrier.