The Centre has approved the sale of the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai to the Maharashtra government for an estimated price of Rs 1,601 crore. The state government would use the building, which was carved out when Air India was sold to Tata Group in 2022, to house government offices.
Maharashtra has agreed to waive dues of Rs 298.42 crore, which would have been otherwise payable by AI Assets Holding Company Ltd, through which the Centre holds the prestigious property, for this transaction, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on social media platform X.
Non-core assets of Air India and its subsidiaries (book value of Rs 14,718 crore) were not a part of the AI disinvestment transaction and were transferred in January 2022 to AIAHL, which is 100% owned by the Centre.
The receipts from the sale of Air India building would count towards asset monetisation receipts by the Centre. The Centre was expecting to receive around Rs 10,000 crore in asset monetisation in FY24, including from the National Highways Authority of India.
On January 27, 2022, India’s flag carrier Air India returned to the hands of Tata Group, which founded it close to 90 years ago. The diversified conglomerate’s unit Talace had won the race for full ownership of the loss-making state-owned airline in October last year, by offering Rs 18,000 crore as enterprise value consideration.