The SPV will be a fully-owned subsidiary of India Post and the projects will be executed on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The matter is still pending with the Union Cabinet for its approval.
India Post has identified more than 200 plots measuring nearly 20,000 sq ft at prime locations in metros and Class I cities, which will be commercially utilised over a period of five years. Without renouncing the ownership of the land, India Post will invite private players to commercially develop the given area on a revenue sharing basis.
Sources in the postal department said, "Our objective is to set up a wholly-owned company with 100 per cent equity participation of the government, just like the Railway Land Development Authority. Once the SPV is set up, it will decide the modalities for the development of each location through the PPP model in a transparent way."
India Post Secretary and Director General I MG Khan said: "We have identified around 400 vacant plots at prime locations across India, including Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad. Overall, we are expecting an internal rate of return of around 18 per cent from commercial exploitation of these plots".
Currently, out of the 25,000 departmental post offices, India Post owns only 4,000 offices and the remaining are being operated from rented premises. The annual rent paid for the same is estimated to be around Rs 30 crore.
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