The iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai has now come under the ownership of the Maharashtra government, following the Union government's approval for the transfer of this valuable asset on Thursday. The acquisition was finalized with the Maharashtra government purchasing the property for Rs 1,601 crore.
GoI has approved transfer of Air India building, Mumbai of AI Assets Holding Company Ltd (AIAHL) to Government of Maharashtra (GoM) at consideration of Rs.1601 cr. GoM has agreed to waive dues of Rs. 298.42 cr, which would have been otherwise payable by AIAHL to GoM for this transaction, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a post on X.
AIAHL, a Government of India company operating under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, was established in 2019 with the objective of managing the non-core assets and debt of Air India. Subsequently, Air India's non-core assets, comprising land and buildings with an estimated value of Rs 14,718 crore, were transferred to AIAHL. This move was initiated by the government as a preliminary step toward the eventual sale of Air India, aimed at consolidating the debt and non-core assets of the erstwhile national carrier.
On January 27, 2022, the government officially transferred ownership of Air India to the Tata Group, following the latter's successful bid of Rs 18,000 crore made in October 2021 to acquire the airline. The building, originally constructed in 1974 on land owned by the state government, will now serve as office space for the government. With a total area of approximately 46,470 square meters spread across 23 floors, the building offers ample space for various government departments.
Following a fire incident at Mantralaya, the state secretariat building in south Mumbai, in 2012, several key departments, including public health, medical education, water supply and sanitation, and rural development, have been operating from GT Hospital. There are plans to relocate these departments, along with others, to the Air India building, thereby optimizing the utilization of the newly acquired office space.