| Land prices in Bandra-Kurla Complex have once again set Mumbai realty on fire as Reliance Industries won a bid for the city's first ever convention centre. |
| The company bid Rs 1,104 crore for a 7.5-hectare plot in the upcoming Bandra-Kurla Complex, just behind the Diamond Bourse. |
| In the process, Mukesh Ambani beat his brother Anil in the race for the city's costliest land deal. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises and Gammon India bid Rs 1,011 crore each, while Delhi-based DLF bid Rs 1,050 crore and Dubai developer Emaar Properties bid Rs 911 crore. |
| The RIL bid works out to Rs 1.95 lakh per sq metre, well above last week's bid of Rs 1.53 lakh per sq metre for a commercial plot by Jet Airways. |
| The 7.5-hectare plot is designated for a 55,000 sq metre, 2000-seat convention centre and a 20,000 sq metre commercial complex. It is expected to come up in four years from the time the contract is awarded. |
| Company sources indicated that RIL had shown interest when the project was mooted by the state government nearly a decade ago. However, the project was eventually given to Leela Hotels, which did not execute it. |
| Sources in the industry also pointed out that Reliance Industries had already acquired three plots in Ahmedabad and one in Hyderabad. |
| It has also acquired land in Bangalore in a joint venture with Shobha Builders, a Bangalore-based developer. These acquisitions, sources said, were related to the company's retail plans. |
| But real estate experts in the city said the dynamics of a convention centre could not be compared with commercial real estate as typically, lead time was much more for a convention centre. But they felt that commercial realty prices in the city were getting heated up in the absence of ready availability of space. |
| Said Rajesh Pandit, head western region, CB Richard Ellis, "These prices are supply driven as no fresh space is expected in the city for another 10-12 months." |
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