Continued from previous thread

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=352146

Flora Heights, Lokhadwala
from TOI epaper

http://img303.imageshack.us/img303/7985/floraheightseh8.jpg

Not Mumbai but Navi Mumbai

Interesting looking but is it for real?

http://www.satraproperties.in/

Sector 19D, Palm Beach Marg, Vashi, Navi Mumbai

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9430/satraitparkvashikj6.jpg

all these weird looking and eye-catching projects are being proposed, but has even a single one of these been approved and is under construction???

If you are speaking of the above project then that is also my question.

However Mumbai does seem to have a high conversion rate from proposals to reality in case of private buildings. The number of highrise buildings under construction is pretty impressive (although the designs may not be).

man that is realy shitty news about daravi.not completely suprising.daravi put off, ind prod growth down, eco forcast down to 7% for next year.Now its my turn for doom 'n' gloom.Just when i thought it was all going to go smoothly.has the country realy begun to get serious about stuff ? Is the question the international community will now be asking, again
Is the Bandra Kurla complex also social housing ?.IE stuff that the developers have no vested interest in doing well?If its purely private than they can make their money back without fucking people up.

(Edit...But just as S&P predict 7.5 % growth next year credit suisse predict 10.5 % by 2008 .Whatever...)

man that is realy shitty news about daravi.not completely suprising.daravi put off, ind prod growth down, eco forcast down to 7% for next year.Now its my turn for doom 'n' gloom.Just when i thought it was all going to go smoothly.has the country realy begun to get serious about stuff ? Is the question the international community will now be asking, again
Is the Bandra Kurla complex also social housing ?.IE stuff that the developers have no vested interest in doing well?If its purely private than they can make their money back without fucking people up.

(Edit...But just as S&P predict 7.5 % growth next year credit suisse predict 10.5 % by 2008 .Whatever...)

:nuts:

Dharavi project hasn't been put off. its just been put on hold for 2 months.
And the economy is firing from all cylinders. I dont want to comment more than that.

Not to raise hopes but here is something for the weekend. While this may or may not be true, it is obvious that builders are at least thinking tall.


http://www.takassociates.net/references.htm
Shreepati Heights, Mumbai
Developer: Shreepati Group
Architect: Reza Kabul
The two wings of this 75 floors residential building
will have 26 elevators

Shreepati group, being the guys behind Shreepati Arcade, are known for thinking big. This one is probably a bit more likely than you think, considering the construction company's track record.

With Shreepati Arcade, they definately thought outside the box to get that building built. Reza Kabul's work (well, post Shreepati Arcade onward) is pretty good. Can't wait to hear more about this project

has an article on the new draft housing code. Well worth a read:
CW Special Report: Shelter
The government of Maharashtra's housing policy is a step in the right direction, but whether it can solve Mumbai's housing woes is debateablel (http://www.constructionupdate.com/construct/constructionworld/2006Issues/december2006/142.html)

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1505/1so3.jpg

^^ What is the present permissible FSI in Mumbai? Isn't it in the range of 3-4?

The report says outside municipal areas, the FSI is increased from 0.5 to 1!! To me it appears as little ridiculous. What is the issue in having FSI/FAR of 3 which can be increased up to 4 like in whole of Kerala? (Anyway present Govt of Kerala seems thinking backwards when they plan to reduce it to 2.5 or so. Already in Kochi corporation area it is rolled back to 1.5 citing infrastructural constraints. Thankfully no such issue in Trivandrum corporation so far since infra is o.k.)


I feel in CBD of Mumbai FSI is high, say 3-4, otherwise how is 30-40 floors possible?. See, in the page posted by Jai, there is some 25 floor slender building in a very small land area. Defnitely the FSI is around 4, if not more.

the fs in the island city is 1.33, in suburbs 0.5 or 1.0. the slender buildings are built thanks to tdr where old buildings are allowed to be reconstructed with theoretically infinite fsi

Yes, those tall thin buildings are becoming a Mumbai feature.

One of the costliest condos in Mumbai?

Nishika Terraces on Worli Seaface

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9686/nishikaterracemumbaief2.jpg

Yet another proposal?

Imperial Heights, Andheri West

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/1221/imperialheightsandheriwep7.jpg

Holy crap! Three towers of 65 stories each and that too in Andheri!

It does look like a prerendering/proposal though. I sincerely hope the building designs themselves are not finalized. Such signiature towers shouldn't look so... bland. Though the plan overlaid on the ground seems to suggest that they would have interesting lanscaping.

On second thought, if the blue is glass and not concrete, than it should look decent, though uninteresting. If it were concrete, what a shame!


Any idea who the builder and/or architect is? Where'd you find this Sun?

Sun..................thanks. 3 x 40F. wow!!

Jai....................Looks like they are preliminary designs in a working stage. Hopefully, soon we'll get to see final renderings. The thing with Bombay is, the builders/designers cooperate well and act fast unlike other cities in India.
Yet another proposal?

Imperial Heights, Andheri West

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/1221/imperialheightsandheriwep7.jpg

Holy crap! Three towers of 65 stories each and that too in Andheri!

It does look like a prerendering/proposal though. I sincerely hope the building designs themselves are not finalized. Such signiature towers shouldn't look so... bland. Though the plan overlaid on the ground seems to suggest that they would have interesting lanscaping.

On second thought, if the blue is glass and not concrete, than it should look decent, though uninteresting. If it were concrete, what a shame!


Any idea who the builder and/or architect is? Where'd you find this Sun?

No idea who the builder is. They are 35 - 40 storeys though.

Hmm... you're right. I see where I messed up in count... each floor vertically sectioned off in two parts in the facade. That's rather odd design.

35 stories it does seem to be. I really shouldn't count floors in the dark right after getting up in the morning. :) I'll edit my post to not get people's hopes up who are reading the thread :)

jai, you may not be wrong, if they are indeed duplexes throughout the building. many new buildings are coming up offering only duplexes

it would seem silly to have linear structures spoiling the view from every window

Okay from the Ecoomic Times epaper 14th Dec, 2006

Found that the Oberoi commercial project in Goregaon is called Oberoi Commerz

http://img303.imageshack.us/img303/2390/oberoicommerzekl7.jpg

and the Satra IT Park in Vashi is 24 storeys.

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9430/satraitparkvashikj6.jpg

jai, you may not be wrong, if they are indeed duplexes throughout the building. many new buildings are coming up offering only duplexes

it would seem silly to have linear structures spoiling the view from every window
Ok, so I may not be blind, but am now thoroughly confused... do builders call duplexes one "storey" in India?

------==--=--==-------

Look at the floors:
http://img275.imageshack.us/img275/5271/1xa7.jpg

If each 'box' in the facade is two stories, it puts it at around 65 stories. If not, than it puts it at around 30.

I am once again changing my mind back to 65. Consider the rendering itself. The buildings just look far larger than 30 stories, when you see the perspective of the buildings. They just look far too massive, or else the perspective is all wrong.

Secondly, look at the stilts:
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/598/2cy3.jpg

In the rendering, the each 'box' is twice the height of the stilts. Unless this building has 1/2 storey stilts, which would befit entry for only ponies and small children, each box has to be at least two stories tall.

I'm going to re-recorrect my original post :)


Okay from the Ecoomic Times epaper 14th Dec, 2006

Found that the Oberoi commercial project in Goregaon is called Oberoi Commerz
Mad Propz 2 da Oberoiz 4 snazzy towerz like "Commerz" and "Skyz", but why the hell do they think using so many "z"s make their buildings more hip??

Cool building though. Looks to be confirmed as 32 stories. Nice find'z' Sun!

-Jai

Hmm..

Well hopefully more information will come in about this project.

There was an article about duplexes in yesterday's HT epaper.

:)

What is the status of Mithi River Development Phase 1? It was in full swing before the rains. Was Supposed to be widened to 50m with retaining walls, jogging trails and restaurants etc. Any action on ground?

six months old news from DNA

City's big builders square up on tall claim

Builder, builder on the block, who is the tallest of them all?
This is no fairy tale. Its the reality of two real-estate developers who say their building is the tallest in India. Three years ago, when the Shapoorji Pallonji- and Dilip Thacker-owned SD Corporation began building the 60-storey Imperial Tower at Tardeo, the building was touted as Indias tallest at 819ft (252m).

But now, the Lodha Group is challenging the Imperials claim to fame.
Next month, the group will begin constructing the 57-storey Bellissimo at Apollo Mills, which it bought from the National Textile Corporation for Rs180 crore. The group claims that the 648ft (202m) building will be Indias tallest.
Whats confusing the magic mirror, according to the Lodha Group, is that SD Corporation has included the height of the antenna and 10 levels of car parking while calculating the Imperials height. If one calculates the height of the liveable floors alone, then the Imperial has a height of about 550ft, say Lodha officials.

“The height of Bellissimos liveable floors is about 600 ft. This is also because of the higher floor to ceiling height of 11.9ft,” the officials say. Also, only three of the Bellissimos 57 floors are for parking.

Upset with the Lodha Groups claims, Amit Thacker of SD Corporation, said: “It is inappropriate and seems nothing more than a marketing gimmick. I do not know why Lodha is making such claims as Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the local legislator, is very much aware of our project. I would not, however, want to get into a mudslinging match.”

Thacker pointed out that the civil aviation ministry only gave clearance to the Imperial. He added, “The height of floor to ceiling blends between 10 and 12ft.

Even if the height is measured from the 12th floor, where the liveable floors begin, our building will be the tallest at 710ft." He is planning to voice his grievance in a letter to Lodha Developers.

When contacted, Abhiseck Lodha, director of Lodha Developers, did not seem keen to pursue the matter. "I am not in the race to build the tallest building," he said. "I have no objection if Shapoorji claims to be constructing the tallest building in the country."

Hmm..

Well hopefully more information will come in about this project.

There was an article about duplexes in yesterday's HT epaper.

:)

Sun, MPE lists this as under construction (http://mumbaipropertyexchange.com/bi_viewproject.asp?project_id=2812&url=bi%5Fsearchprojects%2Easp%3FCurpage%3D113%26seltypeofproject%3DResidential%26sellocation%3D%26selbuilder%3D%26selapttype%3D%26selRate%3D%26Construction%5FStage%3D%26possession%3D%26selamenities%3D%26mi%3D%26price1%3D%26price2%3D%26rate1%3D%26rate2%3D%26rating%3D).

They seem to be star shaped:
http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/1747/2812othkeyplanthumb6edewv0.png

...which looks nothing like the flat looking rendering:
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9581/1hr8.jpg

Perhaps meaning the design isn't finalized?


Also, project completion is to be a rather late 2010 :eek:

Oh well, a small sign of things to come in the next several years!

Thane’s Biggest IT-oriented Township (http://www.realtyplusmag.com/N_fullstory.asp?news_id=439)Mumbai-based Rustomjee Developers are planning to develop Thane’s biggest IT-oriented integrated township, for which the company has already acquired approximately 130 acres of land off the Mumbai-Nashik highway near Thane. The company has entered into a joint development deal with the owner of the land, Rajasingh Verma.

This development, totaling seven million sq ft, will be among the biggest in Mumbai and will contain residential, commercial and recreational facilities. With construction scheduled to begin by the end of this year, the project is expected to be completed in about seven years at a total estimated cost of Rs. 1,200 crores, according to Boman Irani, director of Rustomjee Developers.

Rustomjee's Website (http://www.rustomjee.com/projects.asp#Upcoming) only has the following blurb
Other upcoming projects:

In Thane
Sprawling over 100 acres, our upcoming project in Thane will be a one-of-its-kind property in this fast-developing suburb. A residential and commercial complex that promises a universe of comfort and luxury.

I updated the thread:
The tip of Mumbai's Tallest: 59 towers approved/construction of over 40 stories (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=396290)

I updated the thread:
The tip of Mumbai's Tallest: 59 towers approved/construction of over 40 stories (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=396290)

Great job! I have posted a few u/c pics in the cityscape thread.

Hsg group eyes 2,000 old buildings

MUMBAI: Dilapidated buildings in the island city are a virtual goldmine for builders, given their potential for redevelopment. For the past seven months, Lok Housing has been pushing its proposal in Mantralaya to redevelop 2,000 decrepit buildings in different clusters in a joint venture with the Maharashtra housing and area development authority (Mhada).

Lok Housing chairman and managing director Lalit Gandhi says the proposal, which will change the face of the island city, entails the "mandatory eviction" of tenants living in dangerous buildings so that entire clusters can be redeveloped.

This comes in the wake of a recent Bombay high court order which says that only pre-1940 dilapidated buildings which are beyond economical repair can be taken up for redevelopment. There are over 17,000 cessed properties in the island city, of which less than 2,000 fall in the category described by the court. "We have seen, tenants ganging up to demand unreasonable benefits and to stall the project. There should be mandatory eviction of tenants and landlords based on the agreed, reasonable policies," Gandhi told TOI.

Gandhi's proposal has been discussed at various meetings in Mantralaya, including at chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's level, but has found few takers in Mhada as well as the state housing department.

As part of its plan, Lok Housing has offered its 55 acre plot in Mankhurd to construct 25,000 tenements for transit accommodation for tenants whose buildings will undergo redevelopment.

"To accomplish this task of demolition and reconstruction of old buildings, we should form a joint venture company between Mhada and Lok Housing. It will have a board of directors comprising NGOs, ex-bureaucrats, etc," says Gandhi, who has the backing of Jockin Arputham, who won the Magsaysay award for his work with slumdwellers.

According to the plan, the joint venture will redevelop 2,000 unsafe cessed buildings and surrounding non-cessed buildings of more than 80 years old to make a cluster/block in south Mumbai along with upgrading and augmenting the surrounding basic infrastructure to cater to the enhanced and concentrated population in the newly constructed buildings. At present, the island city of Mumbai has the largest population density of 45,000 people per sq km. Lok Housing's proposal seeks permission to construct four times the area of the dilapidated building to be redeveloped.

However, Mhada chief Iqbal Chahal has objected to this proposal. A copy of Chahal's note procured by activist Shailesh Gandhi under the RTI Act, raises questions as to why Mhada should enter into a joint venture with only Lok Group and not with a large number of such developers.

"It is not clear as to why a monopoly should be created only for Lok Group where ultimately no other developer shall be eligible to carry out redevelopment without prior consent of Lok Group, which seems prima facie objectionable," says Chahal, in his note.

Housing secretary Swadhin Kshatriya said, "The government can't pick and chose people in this manner. We will have to wait for the new housing policy before we consider such proposals."

However, Gandhi is confident. "The proposal is before the CM, awaiting his approval.

Builder Pujit Agarwal, who represents the Property Redevelopers Association, says any project of this scale should be through a transparent and tendering process as various developers would be interested in pursuing it. Any single party who gets the contract of this sort in a non-transparent way can always be challenged," he adds.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Cities/Mumbai/Hsg_group_eyes_2000_old_buildings/articleshow/828232.cms

This is very good news above.

I hope the Housing Group is successful as many buildings need development in Mumbai.

In this photo posted by Jai in the cityscape thread, is that the Shreepati Tower?

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/252/shreepatitowermaybeszo0.jpg

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/4238/1284shreepatotowerzn0.jpg

Lake Homes (some of these buildings are complete/nearing completion)

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/2972/lakehomescompletesgq5.jpg

-----==--=--==-----

V.G. Western, Malad: 3 towers of 20 storeys each
http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/9882/005b4495fazq9.jpg
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6273/006b585ff5zr2.jpg
Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates
Planning Stages. More information needed.

-----==--=--==-----

Bela Vista Complex, Andheri:
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/4361/006b474a0eli7.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates
Planning Stages. More information needed.

-----==--=--==-----

Mahavir Universe, Bahndhup: 5 towers of 25 stories each
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/5268/007b47abd5ht3.jpg
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6953/009b5e500arz7.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates

-----==--=--==-----

Neelkanth Kingdom, Vidyavihar:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2109/001xy9.jpg
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8631/003b5efc86bd3.jpg
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7228/001b60074fbe4.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates

-----==--=--==-----

S. A Megacity, Eastern Express Highway (Thane?)
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/8906/009b51a4e0mg2.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates
Planning Stages. More information needed.

-----==--=--==-----

Mahavir Platinum , Chembur: 2 towers of 20 stories each
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/9531/008b5a9718es8.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates

-----==--=--==-----

A. C. Patel College, Kharghar
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7400/001b6213d8cj6.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates

-----==--=--==-----

Tata Vadali, unknown location (in Mumbai?): 10 towers of 20 stories each
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4848/010b5bfb4cgd9.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates

-----==--=--==-----

SEZ Projects, unknown location (in Mumbai/Navi Mumbai?)
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/8484/002b636251yx9.jpg
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/6383/003b6373a6bp4.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates

-----==--=--==-----

Global Vipassana Centre - dome under construction
photo copyright cornflex

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/2096/globalvipasannacornflexde4.jpg

these designs/renderings are sweet but all i know is that the maintainence fees are gonna be really high

Jai...............your ^^ update show so much glass & that good. Bombay needs to look more glassy & less concrete.

Soooo many projects it hard to keep up!

Some of these look great and hope they are built.

So many towers now going up in Mumbai we need another list and better cofirmation of what is being built like Shreepati Tower.

Here's a construction update of The Imperial, from a very recent pic I'd posted in the cityscapes thread. I have edited the contrast, etc. for clarity. Its on the far right side:
http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/8519/1fx9.jpg
^ Looks like they have restarted construction post-monsoon. If my eyes don't decieve me, it seems taller.

The Imperial Towers

Its coming on well and due for completion Dec 2007

Hi,

Am adding to the Bombay Boom Rundown thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=360628) the following buildings.

~~~~~

New Project! - Shreepati Heights (http://www.takassociates.net/references.htm), Mumbai: 75 stories

[no rendering released yet]

Building proposed, but no rendering released. Desigined by architect Reza Kabul (who was also the architect for Shreepati Heights, Mumbai's tallest building until a 2004.) More information needed.

~~~~~

New Project! - Imperial Heights, Andheri West: three towers of 65 stories each
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9581/1hr8.jpg (http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/549/1ei9.jpg)

~~~~~

Added confirmation and location map for Oberoi Skyz (http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:BC9FVMi-72EJ:epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx%3Farticle%3D12_11_2006_001_006%26typ%3D0%26pub%3D264&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3), Worli: two towers of 65 stories (possibly 80 stories) each.

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/9448/174du5pb1.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4697/174du5.jpg)
Note: The above image is not a rendering of the towers!

Building under construction, but still no rendering released yet. The graphic above is just to show where exactly the towers are coming up. It was formerly reported to be rocket-ship-shaped.

~~~~~

New Project! - K. Raheja Project, Worli: 45 stories
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/4484/1xf8.jpg (http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/4484/1xf8.jpg) http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3585/2so9.jpg (http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/169/2iy7.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Reliance Tower, Altamount Road: 42 stories
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/8366/1ak9jy1.jpg (http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/5151/1ak9py8.jpg) http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/6549/2gt3id9.jpg (http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/5219/2gt3pt3.jpg) http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/596/4kd1fl9.jpg (http://img313.imageshack.us/img313/5593/4kd1xr1.jpg)

~~~~~

Corrected height information for Sarovar Dharshan, Mulund: two towers of 40 stories each
http://img418.imageshack.us/img418/5359/12c9791bwj3wv9.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9954/12c9791bwj3.jpg)

~~~~~

Added new rendering, corrected height information for Raheja Atlantis, Worli: 36 stories
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/9899/2pb6.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6193/120zq0.jpg)

~~~~~

Added new rendering, corrected name for Oberoi Commerz, Mumbai: 32 stories.
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/6741/oberoicommerzekl7kj7.jpg (http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/3746/oberoicommerzekl7hu4.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - SEZ Project, Mumbai: 32 stories
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/8881/1gu7.jpg (http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/3874/1px7.jpg)

More information needed.

~~~~~

New Project! - Runwal Pride, Mulund (West): 30 stories
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/7258/runwalpride5vxmq6.jpg (http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1015/runwalpride5vxhn8.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Haresh Mehta Building, Mumbai: 30 stories
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6649/1fx6.jpg (http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/607/13bfd79ail8.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Rustomjee Project, Thane: two towers of 30 stories each
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9448/1pw1.jpg (http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9448/1pw1.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Flora Heights, Lokhadwala: 30 stories
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/8173/2oq8.jpg (http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/2128/1pd6.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Mahavir Universe, Bahndhup: 5 towers of 25 stories each
http://img303.imageshack.us/img303/1927/009b5e500arz7yg7.jpg (http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6953/009b5e500arz7.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Raheja Willows, Kandivali (East): 25 stories
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7535/rahejawillowslargelb1.jpg (http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6716/rahejawillowslarge34f0frf8.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Rustomjee La Sonrisa, Matunga: 25 stories
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5559/sonrisafullviewru3.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4351/sonrisafullview379fb53gb7.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Laxminarayan Residency, Thane: 25 stories
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/8655/1jw9.jpg (http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1989/1gg6.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Ispat Tower, Pedder Road: 25 stories
http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/8247/1mb2.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/1261/ispattowernewes4cw7.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Flora Heights, Lokhadwala: 25 stories
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4541/floraheightseh8gm6.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/5746/floraheightseh8yq9.jpg)

~~~~~

New Project! - Satra IT Park, Vashi: 25 stories
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2161/satraitparkvashikj6mo5.jpg (http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/1046/satraitparkvashikj6wq8.jpg)

~~~~~

Cheers,
Jai

Look East for a New Mumbai
From Hindustan Times Epaper
December 28, 2006
VESTED INTERESTS have started a systematic campaign against the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), alleging that landed assets are underutilised and that there has been a substantial decline in the traffic handled by MbPT in recent years.

Therefore, the eastern waterfront should be handed-over to either the municipal corporation or the state government, they argue. I am convinced this campaign is supported by the builders’ lobby.

The Mumbai harbour is a natural one and was selected for developing a major port of the country. The metropolitan city of Mumbai owes its growth to this port. The present assets of the port trust have been almost entirely created by large-scale reclamations from the sea, and entirely at the port trust costs.

The social problem of slums and the dishoused, the state government hopes to solve with the port’s lands, can be settled on the mainland. The proposal of locating it on port trust land behind the docks is a suspect decision attempting to solve the headache by transferring the burden on somebody else’s neck.

This highlights the conflict of planning objectives between the city’s residential interests and national interests. By this logic, the airport and railways will have also to go. This also raises questions about the ideology of those hoping to open up port trust lands for leisure and shopping areas.

It is pertinent to note that through the Mumbai port trust had invested more than Rs 500 crore for the construction of Jawaharlal Nehru port (Nhava Sheva port) and thus directly helped decongest the city.

The land policy approved by the board of trustees of Mumbai port trust in 2001 also had a provision to facilitate disposal of lands/structures on outright sale basis if they were lying unutilised and where encroachments are likely to take place.

But so far the board of trustees have not decided to sell their landed property. In accordance with the provisions of the major port trusts act, port trust is also allowed to lease out the land to the lessees for not more that 30 years.

Being a member of the sub-committee of trustees of the Mumbai port, I can say with some authority that the trust board is in the process of taking a review of the policy approved in 2001, including the provision enabling disposal of landed property. Deliberations are in progress and it may take some more time to finalise the approach of the board in respect of land policy.

S.R Kulkarni is the President of the All India Port & Dock Workers Federation and is a Trustee of the Mumbai Port Trust.

The road ahead
This will include a dedicated rail line connecting Wadala to Kurla, which will then link up with the Central Railway’s 5th and 6th lines being laid under the Mumbai Urban Improvement Programme (MUIP)

The project also includes the rehabilitation of 2,000 slum hutments on port trust and Railway land The port trust would contribute Rs 368 crore of the project cost, while Rs 800 crore would be contributed by a private sector partner, who will build the new docks on a BOT (Build-Own-Transfer) basis

Four open sea berths with a deep draught of 14.6 meters at a cost of Rs 353 crore A dedicated chemical jetty at Pirpau at a cost of Rs 116 crore is also in the pipeline along with a 5th oil berth

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/259/28122006006003dcca56id4.th.jpg (http://img125.imageshack.us/my.php?image=28122006006003dcca56id4.jpg)

Interface Heights, Malad: seven towers of 25 stories each
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9555/11img5bf364c6ey4.jpg

A status update on the 72-75 storey India International Trade Tower, and a news blurb about more mill lands that will be sold:
Nine NTC mills to go under hammer (http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/ntckohinoormills/ninentcmillstogounderhammer/market/stocks/article/258446)
2006-12-26 20:09 Source : Moneycontrol.com

Close to 80 acres of mill land valued at more than Rs 6,000 crore at current market rates will be thrown open to private developers in February 2007.The National Textile Corporation or NTC is finalising plans to put another nine mills under the hammer reports CNBC-TV18.

After raising Rs 2000 crore by selling 50 acres of mill land in mid 2005, NTC hopes to make a killing once again.

NTC is gearing up to unleash more prime land in the heart of Mumbai! The corporation has confirmed that it is looking at putting nine textile mills covering an area of 79.14 acres on the block by late January or early February next year. In Mumbai alone, NTC owns 25 mills, of which five were sold for development to private parties in 2005.

The corporation has already got approvals from its board as well as the central government to auction 9 more defunct mills, which include a big chunk of Kohinoor Mills, Madhusudan Mills and India United Mills among others. NTC says it will set the reserve price for each mill on the basis of highest and best usage. Sources in the NTC say they are now awaiting the BMC's final nod to go ahead with the sale and is positive that it will come through early next year.

The NTC has also set aside three mills totaling 24 acres, which include India United 4 , Sitaram Mills and Jam mills to be handed over free of cost, to the BMC and MAHADA for public usage and low-cost housing, when the nine other mills are put up for sale

The textile corporation has also earmarked the 12-acre India United Mills no. 6 to be developed into an international trade center. Meanwhile, property experts say the sale of the nine mills is a welcome move and will bring in much needed fresh supply into central Mumbai. Industry watchers also say with private equity chasing realty deals primarily in the metros and many developers in the race to make their presence in India’s financial capital, central Mumbai is expected to witness yet another round of big ticket deals.

Hmm... Seems it is still in the planning stages, with no movement yet on the ground. Perhaps during/after this mill land sale, we'll hear some more information about it.

Seriously, just 9 letters before they allow all this land to be developed:

FSI FSI FSI

Why don't Maharashtra's netas realize that reforming the outdated laws will probably help Mumbai much more than anything else.

Such predictable character they have - always running away from the tough answers.

Seriously, just 9 letters before they allow all this land to be developed:

FSI FSI FSI

Why don't Maharashtra's netas realize that reforming the outdated laws will probably help Mumbai much more than anything else.

Such predictable character they have - always running away from the tough answers.

Or even easy answers.
Great updates MR J

Interface Heights, Malad: seven towers of 25 stories each
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9555/11img5bf364c6ey4.jpg

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9913/interfaceheightsmaladle0.jpg

^^^ Sun, there is also this rendering of the project. It seems a bit different
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/7122/1mj4.jpg

^^^ Sun, there is also this rendering of the project. It seems a bit different
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/7122/1mj4.jpg

It's similar I guess.

The ULCA will be abolished soon by the Cabinet.

The PM is pushing for this as this has caused many problems fro builders, architects and the general public alike.

abolishing ULCA would be a major loss for whichever political party does it. are they ready to take the step?

Guys... I was talking to someone who was in India on business last year. He said that the big news at the time was that Ambani and Reliance Industries was planning to build a WTB in Navi Mumbai. Since then, Reliance's Mahamumbai SEZ (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=2112839&postcount=6) has been approved.

A question to Mumbaites... have you heard of this rumor?

whats a wtb?

worlds tallest building. Sorry, something I picked up from the main forums.

not likely at all. no reason really

not likely at all. no reason really

With Reliance you never know...

So, what can we expect in 2007?

Push-button comforts arrive, live hi-tech in '07 (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1070942)
Kiran Wadhwa
Sunday, December 24, 2006 02:03 IST

MUMBAI: Karishma Chandiramani presses her finger against a sensor. The biometric thumbprint opens the elevator, takes her to an ultra-luxurious home on the 50th floor. Inside, at the press of a button on a futuristic touch-screen panel, she sets off the mood lighting for the evening. She can even control the settings through her mobile phone or the internet.

But Chandiramani still dreams of such a home. She may take a little longer than usual to find it. “I would love to sit in bed and draw my curtains or control the lasagna in my microwave via my cellphone. It would be like having breakfast in bed,” says Chandiramani.

Lodha Bellissimo, a 50-storeyed superluxury apartment tower at Lower Parel, in which one lives with thumbprint locks and automated mood lights, could be her dream home. It is one in a new crop of by-invitation-only signature buildings coming up in Mumbai.

Planet Godrej at Simplex Mills in Mahalakshmi is another plush, five-tower complex. The 50-storey towers with high-speed elevators and brainy new homes occupy five per cent of the space; the rest is devoted to landscaping and other facilities.

Says Rakesh Shah, a chemicals exporter, who has just bought a home at Planet Godrej and cannot wait to move in: “People are looking for lifestyle buildings with open spaces and in-house facilities. Now, I don’t need a club membership.”

The suburbs are not far behind in the hi-tech game. Satguru Builders is coming up with by-invitation-only lifestyle apartments in Khar. “People do not mind investing in a quality product. Our clients range from industrialists to diamond merchants to CEOs,” says Sharan Babani, director, Satguru Builders.

Says Poonam Mahtani, national director of Colliers International, a property consultancy, “Today, the executive travels all over the world and wants to live by international standards.” Agrees Abhinandan Lodha, director, Lodha Group: “It is not about Shanghai or New York. Mumbai is setting its own benchmark as a global city.”

If industry sources are to be believed, the city will soon have hi-tech revolving apartments. What say you to the sun rising and setting outside the same window!

Here's an older, but interesting diagram from DNA India
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/8237/builderoftheghjkelarge1gh4.jpg

And
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/5489/151244145large1ew1.th.jpg (http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=151244145large1ew1.jpg)

whats a wtb?

An abreviation that india didnt invent? I dont beleive it.
Anyway the demand is not there yet.Its just hype for the SEZ.
What do i expect for bombay this year?
I hope the UCLA is abolished, rent control is phased out & FSI is increased.At least one of those is likely.

The Imperial Towers is a very exciting project. It's tall enough to transform the skyline. However it's dominance won't last long looking at the number and scale of projects in the pipeline. :)

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/1221/imperialheightsandheriwep7.jpg

Holy crap! Three towers of 65 stories each and that too in Andheri!

It does look like a prerendering/proposal though. I sincerely hope the building designs themselves are not finalized. Such signiature towers shouldn't look so... bland. Though the plan overlaid on the ground seems to suggest that they would have interesting lanscaping.

On second thought, if the blue is glass and not concrete, than it should look decent, though uninteresting. If it were concrete, what a shame!


Any idea who the builder and/or architect is? Where'd you find this Sun?I like the simple slim design. India's architectural and aesthetic traditions do not include minimalism. Indians seem to go for lush colour and rich detail and ornamentation. Perhaps that's why you don't like it? Personally I like them sleek and simple... ;)

Will Imperial Heights be taller than Imperial Towers?

^^

I like that.

I like it too!

Who knows which building or what new project will be Mumbai/India's next tallest building.

Whats the latest on Imperial Towers?????

Rent control should be abolished as soon as possible and new laws made. This actually is being currently drafted by the state government as the new housing policy for he state which will give fairness and all people of all social income groups a chance for better housing.

The Rent Control Act/URCL is actually encouraging slums and decrepit housing conditions throughout the city.

I can't wait to see The Imperial Tower when I go to Mumbai next time. Last time I saw it was in construction which one of the building was complete and other is yet to complete. The Imperial Tower is like 5 mins from my house in South Bombay. Wonder how it will look when it's complete.

i have a very hsort attention span and dont have much time so keeping this in mind
can someone basically explain the rent control act and other laws prohibiting mumbai in construction ways
try and be to the pt

Looks like Pune-based Kumar Builders is ready to make their bigtime Mumbai move, with this 56 storied residential tower, which would be in one of the following areas: Tardeo, Bandra, Worli or Byculla.

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/7331/image24se9.jpg

It was taken from their flash animation (which, by the way, was a bitch to capture), with the caption "Mumbai: Reaching Greater Heights."

Awesome looking tower :)

Parel sells dreams (http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/0-0&fp=459bf35627204904&ei=UU2bReCaG4fyoQLXjYxn&url=http%3A//www.dnaindia.com/report.asp%3FNewsID%3D1072475&cid=0)
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3025/01a07kp007large1yp0.jpg
For decades, this area dotted with chawls and old buildings, has been the identity of the Girangaon — mill land area. But times have changed. The cluster of chawls with their tiny 180-200 sq ft one-room houses have given way to new buildings and bigger houses.

Slums are being redeveloped under various schemes by state government. Malls, multiplexes and highrises have come up and the existing looms, spinning machines and chimneys are fading into oblivion.

Precious lands once belonging to two dozen mills in south central Mumbai — particularly in Parel, Kalachowkie, Ghodapdev, Lalbaug, Sewree — have turned a over a new leaf. The huge residential complexes, malls taking shape tell the success story of urbanisation. Slums have turned goldmines with overwhelming offers of redevelopment. Though the slums underwent redevelopment decades ago, there were no provisions to meet the heavy maintenance cost of the new flats. Today, builders offer hefty amount as corpus fund to tide over the problem. “Tenants from old chawls and slums get bigger living area. But prohibitive outgoings in new buildings make it an unaffordable proposition for most. Many old tenants preferred to sell their flats and shift to suburbs,” said Suresh Panchal, resident of Lalbaug. So lucrative has construction business become in the area that many local politicians have either turned builders themselves or shook hands with them to facilitate smooth construction of the projects.

“Many Shiv Sena, NCP leaders have openly entered the business. How will the people will believe their credibility?,” asks another tenant of a chawl in Parel. The other fear the old tenants nurse is of a possible water shortage in future. Huge towers and housing societies have their own huge storing capacity tanks, which can swallow the water supply to the old buildings. “But with additional water supply of 350 MLD in city, we can cope with the problem,” said Shiv Sena Corporator from Bhoiwada Shraddha Jadhav.

With decreasing slums, density of population also has seen a diminishing graph. The population has therefore slumped by 15,000 in last five years. The ward has the largest number of hospitals, who because of the financial crunch have jacked up rates, making treatment costly.

this is good


India's property boom yields high returns By Shailendra Bhatnagar
Tue Jan 2, 6:27 PM ET



NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Rajan Sharma bought 4,000 square feet of office space on the outskirts of India's capital, New Delhi, for 2,900 rupees ($65) a square foot in 2002 and hasn't stopped grinning since.

Four years later, the 42-year-old consultant regularly gets offers more than three times the price he paid for the same office space as the arrival of foreign players, easy finance and rising incomes fuel a rush for prime real estate.

"It has been a very short but a hugely profitable journey," Sharma, who now runs a property firm, told Reuters.

"Seeing these profits I feel I should have done real estate all my life."

He is not alone.

There are literally thousands of sellers and speculators who have laughed all the way to the bank because of a property boom in New Delhi and its two satellite towns -- Noida and Gurgaon.

The pace has been almost as brisk in many other cities in India.

In Delhi, prices have been pushed even higher by a government campaign to close shops and offices built illegally in residential neighborhoods, adding to already fierce competition for commercial property.

And a spreading underground rail network in Delhi, which will eventually reach parts of Noida and Gurgaon, has spurred property prices along existing and planned routes.

"There is also fundamental and growing demand for office and retail space because of sustained economic activity driven by software companies and branded firms," said Tanaji Chakrabarti of real estate firm Trammell Crow Meghraj.

Delhi and its suburbs are also home to fifth-ranked software services exporter HCL Technologies Ltd. and huge backoffice units of companies such as American Express Co. and Convergys that employ thousands of staff.

The $23 billion software services sector has been one of the biggest consumers of real estate along with changing shopping tastes that are favoring multi-brand malls over neighborhood mom-and-pop shops, said Chakrabarti.

A NEW ECONOMY

Spurring the boom, the government has slashed cobwebs of legislation by allowing 100 percent foreign direct investment in large projects. Stamp duties have been rationalized and reduced, and a policy to set up special economic zones is boosting industrial growth.

Nascent chains such as Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd. and Reliance Retail Ltd. have lined up multi-billion dollar expansion plans in which the largest component has been set aside for leasing or buying organized retail space.

In addition, companies such as Nike Inc. and Adidas are deepening their presence through franchised operations beyond India's metros to soak up demand from millions in the growing middle class.

"The demand for retail space across India will increase," said Vivek Dahiya, associate director at global property advisor DTZ India. "Certain markets seeing oversupply will see reduction in vacancies."

In Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida alone organized retail space is likely to rise to 14 million sq.ft. by the end of 2007 from 2 million now, he said.

But the sharp rise in commercial rentals in the past three years is hurting growth prospects of organized retail chains, which operate on margins as low as 3-4 percent.

"Rentals are now dramatically higher - by at least 50 percent in a lot of cities," said Kishore Biyani, managing director at Pantaloon. "At these prices we can't sign up new properties."

Biyani, who started retailing in 1997, said annual sales needed to be at least 50 percent higher to offset rising rentals.

In central parts of heavily congested Mumbai city, monthly rentals for discount stores have soared in excess of 125 rupees sq.ft from 55 rupees sq.ft about 2 years ago, said Pranay Vakil, chairman at Knight Frank India.

"This is madness and has little relevance to actual supply and demand factors," Vakil said. "Rentals are now crossing the industry norm of 12 percent of gross sales, making it extremely difficult and unaffordable for retailers."

But even after this rise, monthly retail rentals in prime commercial space or "high street" in Mumbai are low at $11 per sq.ft compared with $24 in Singapore and $80 in Hong Kong, according to data from Knight Frank India.

SERVICES SECTOR

Research firm SSKI forecasts demand for 160 million sq.ft. of commercial real estate over the next 3-4 years, driven primarily by the services sector, which contributes nearly 55 percent of GDP in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Similarly, the housing sector is likely to see 15.9 billion sq. ft. of construction by 2010, SSKI said in a recent report.

However risks abound despite runaway gains and could harm short-term demand for residential property.

"The sharp run in property prices over the last 2-3 years and an upturn in the interest rate cycle are the key risks," said Shirish Rane, an analyst at SSKI.

"Commercial and retail properties are threatened by the trend of rising rentals which impact profitability."

Prices of prime residential property in central Delhi have soared more than 75 percent over the past two years thanks to demand from a growing tribe of millionaires and a law that limits the number of floors that can be constructed.

All this euphoria has also spilled onto the stock markets where the real estate stocks have been among the top performers thanks to scarce supply of quality paper.

Initial public offerings of firms such as Parsvnath Developers Ltd. have seen huge demand and the stock listed, in November, at an 83 percent premium to the issue price of 300 rupees.

($1 = 44.61 rupees)

(Additional reporting by Nitin Luthra)



http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20070103/2007_01_02t190028_450x340_us_india_property.jpg?x=380&y=287&sig=78w4PfyxcY.A1xLHmwluBg--
A high-rise building is lit up during construction in Mumbai December 22, 2006. (Arko Datta/Reuters)

i have a very hsort attention span and dont have much time so keeping this in mind
can someone basically explain the rent control act and other laws prohibiting mumbai in construction ways
try and be to the pt


Ok i'll give it ago. Someone put me right if i aint.

ULCA - Urban land ceiling act. restricts any one party from aquiring more than a stipulated amount of land in any one location. .So therefor restricts freed up land for developement.

Rent control act - Means rents are fixed at a set rate.(1950's rates ?)means lease holders cannot put up rents and therefor mailytain buildings.I think it also means tenants have very strong tenancy rights & cant be evicted

These two above are common socialist legislation used internationaly, but repealed elsewhere when it became clear they didnt work.Protected private tenants who couldnt afford to pay new rents were then put into newly built state low rent housing

F S I - floor space index.Every city has them.It means the relationship between land occupied & height. Bombays is 1.5 think.Its obviously being flouted.Also there is a legal get out cluase in bombay to get around it, something aboput land usage.

theres also an act in bombay that restricts coastal development, supposed to be a conservation law.

thanx dread the controls

anybody know more info on the new taxis supposed to come out i think it was lancer or esteem or somthing

This is a great example of 'glassy' facade making a very ordinary design look outstanding.

56 storied residential tower
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/7331/image24se9.jpg
:)

Firstly,

A Time For Renewal
From The Economic Times Epaper, 04 Jan 06
http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/8634/pc0330500me5.jpg
The development of the 400-acre mill lands will see the landscape of Mumbai undergo a change in the near future

Padma Ramakrishnan

As leading multinational corporations, equity funds and insurance companies look to doing business in India and eye the financial capital of the country; they can now look forward to world-class premises in commercial, retail and residential. The landscape of Central Mumbai is all set to change with the development of the mill lands constituting 400 acres.

Earlier, nobody wanted to go to Lower Parel; today everybody wants to be there, as development starts on the mill lands bought at astronomical prices. As developers here have invested so much, they will have to prove themselves. Though most of these projects are two and a half years away, these would be superior in terms of infrastructure, quality and ambience The land values they will fetch will be high, as compared to last year. As prices are heading higher, the entry of good developments will act as a reliever for the market.

According to Bharat Yamsanwar, Principal architect, Team 1 Architects, "With the availability of 400 acres of mill land, you can formulate a major plan for commercial, residential development in the central island city, which is the need of the hour. Since the investments are high, most of them will be mixed developments; these high quality constructions will be the baseline for the next century."

According to Mayur Shah of Marathon Realty, who is developing seven and a half acres of Piramal Mills, four acres of Mafatlal Mills and 12 acres of Khatau mills: "Central Mumbai is a strategic location close to the financial centres of RBI, the stock exchanges, the Central business district of Nariman Point, Fountain and Fort, besides being close to the airport. This strategic location gives an opportunity to different segments entering India."

Shah points out that global corporations setting up office in India need world class requirements - large floor plates, glass facades, grand lobbies, open spaces, more than sufficient car parks, security systems and power back ups. They are ready to pay lease rentals of Rs 160 to 200 per sqft but need their requirements in terms of power back-up and ambience, which they are unable to find in the existing CBDs. They are looking at how quickly they can start hassle-free business. Besides office premises, they are looking at high-end residentials to house their employees in the vicinity, by way of the walk to work culture. Many of them want to retain their expats and have to accommodate them suitably. “Our project, 'Marathon Gen,' has seen 70% completion, and would be a mixed development of 50% residential, and fifty per cent corporate offices,'' he says.

He further says that the 36-storied 'Marathon Era,' a world-class building has offices of international companies like Dawnay Day from UK and other companies from Taiwan. A leading billion dollar UK asset company has negotiated for offices and residences for its employees in the same complex. 'Marthon Innova' has also seen a client base of foreign companies. These companies are looking at large floor plates, one car park for every 500 sqft and not all of these amenities are available in the present CBDs and hence even as they can afford Nariman Point prices, they prefer to be in Parel.

"Indian companies too are expanding. Media companies, financial services, prefer this area, as it could draw employees from South Mumbai and the suburbs. The area has already seen the ITC Hotel, and there are three or four more such hotels being planned. Why will hotels come up in this location? It is a demand driven development. Nobody would do this kind of development without a thorough study of demand,'' he adds.

Organised retail would entail better quality buildings which would change the overall land scape of the city. On the 1.2 million sqft development on Mumbai Mills, DLF is planning a unique shopping experience designed by USbased Jerde Consultants, who have designed malls in the US, China and other parts of the world. According to sources close to DLF, the aesthetically designed mall would be a composite experience for everyone from the age of four to 65. There would be infrastructure support in terms of large car parks; entertainment experience, small amusement courts, regular experience of anchors. It would have mid-market brands, judicious mix of Indian and international brands, multiple food courts catering to different segments.

DLF is also planning a high profile mall close to the racecourse; a dedicated four lakh sqft upmarket mall catering to very expensive top line brands. A Louis Vuitton, Armani, Versace, or Cartier, are not interested in the neighbourhood of Spencer. They demand a different ethos, profile and positioning, something exclusive where an ambience is created through wide passages, classy, silent and elegant experience. This could be located only in the metropolitan cities where you would have the population who have travelled across the world and want a similar lifestyle.

Lodha Group's upmarket residential project on Apollo Mills is a sale by invitation project catering to high-end professionals travelling across the globe. Says Abhinandan Lodha, Director, Lodha Group, 'Bellissimo' would be a lifestyle project with open areas, cricket pitch, garden at every fourth level. Ninety per cent of the project is open space while 8% of the area is constructed. The amenities would be never before seen in India. The first phase of the project started two months ago, and we are yet to finalise plans for the second phase. We are looking at completion by the third quarter of 2009.

Over a period of time, Central Mumbai will provide the lifestyle as South Mumbai has very limited space. The rates would depend on project specifications. It could be anywhere between 15,000 to 30,000 per sqft in the next year, depending on how you have conceptualised and targeted your segment, says developers.

Explains Rajesh Pandit, Head Western Region, CB Richard Ellis, "there is currently no supply in terms of the demand and rentals are on the high side. The supply will ease pressure. As time passes, MNC requirements would be, not just in terms of floor plates and technicalities, but user friendly buildings with international specifications. These constructions would be mixed use and take care of the requirements of the people; where you could give your car for servicing while at work, buy groceries, eat in a hotel. These complexes will see more planning and thought processes involved from architects and builders, keeping in mind the overall scenario, which will be their plus point."

Over a period this strategic location will see a further boost with the enhancement of the east west connectivity and the harbour link. The pressure on infrastructure, however, will certainly have to be worked out. The BMC has so far not been proactive in planning. Traffic moves need a master plan and smart planning to encourage people to move here.

Highlights of the article:

1. Mumbai's skyline will be dramatically changed in the next couple years

2. Most projects are still 2 years to completion

3. Three to four more hotels the scale of ITC Sheraton are planned.

4. DLF plans a huge mall at former Mumbai Mills

5. Lodha Bellissimo to be completed by 3rd quarter of 2009

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6140/1vh9.th.jpg (http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1vh9.jpg)

------==--=--==------


Also, Akruti Nirman has this 45 storey project in one of their ads in TOI.

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/2962/akrutiestate45te8.jpg

Unfortunately, thier website seems to be down, so I'm not sure of the project's name and exact location

WOW!

This is cool.

Although some of the new concrete buidlings already built need a paint job as the monsoons blacken the buildings.

Jai....................wonderful. I'm speechless. nice'n'glassy & Less concrete.

Firstly,
Also, Akruti Nirman has this 45 storey project in one of their ads in TOI.
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/2962/akrutiestate45te8.jpg

Some construction photos I posted in the cityscapes thread, edited for clarity:

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9391/pc0051000km6.jpg
^ Note The Legend tower u/c -- almost topped out! (From TOI.)

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/4444/1ll8.jpg
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5780/3mt4.jpg
^ Very recent pictures of the skyline at Powai -- starting to get some real density! (from Pamela @ smugmug)

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/4194/dscf0168254955c6fk2.jpg
^ A view of the rising Parel area skyline! (from lcrjsb @ photobucket)

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/3572/2eh6.jpg
^ Another view -- The Imperial looks like it has re-started construction! Also, as Sun said, note the National Sports Club (http://www.stadia.tv/archive/user/news_article.tpl?id=20060522190115)under construction in the foreground. (from jason_india @ flickr)

Cheers,
Jai

Some more information about probable redevelopment into skyscrapers, this time in Worli

Have money, will live in Worli (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1072948)
Surendra Gangan
Friday, January 05, 2007 22:56 IST

With the area falling under Coastal Regulation Zone, it can only see vertical development

Two years ago, real estate prices in Prabhadevi and Worli ranged between Rs6000 to 8000 per square foot. They have now skyrocketed to Rs15000 to Rs18000. If this quantum jump is any indication, Prabhadevi and Worli present a developed face of this burgeoning metropolis. With the death knell of the mills already sounded, Lower Parel is close behind.

Development of plots in South Mumbai has been restricted due to Coastal Regulation Zone rules. There can only be a vertical growth. Naturally, the population burden of that area has passed on to next possible comfortable area — Worli and Prabhadevi.

This is the reason why leading builders like RNA, Lokhandwala, Oberoi have taken care of the redevelopment on mill lands and through SRA schemes. 120 buildings of BDD chawls in Worli, 41 buildings of Adarsh Nagar, Dozens of buildings from adjacent Shivaji Nagar, Koliwada in Worli are said to be the major probable colonies which can be replaced by huge towers in near future.

Highrises and plush colonies have improved the standard of living of the people in the area. But scarcity of schools, colleges, markets and departmental stores as well as open space, play and recreational grounds has been the threatening issues in front of this newly entered population.

“How BMC is going to solve their problem of drinking water and parking facilities is another question, “ said Ashok Salve, a social worker from Worli.

The area — G South ward — has some of the most popular tourist spots including Nehru Center, Dhobi Ghat, Haji Ali Dargah, Worli Sea Face and V Patel stadium. But maintenance of most of them has largely been neglected by the agencies concerned.

Dhobi Ghaat has 735 pit-stones with nearly 4500 laundrymen working in it. But collapsed drainage system, shortage of water-health facilities and slum encroachment has messed up this place, which has acquired heritage status.

Worli-Bandra sea link, which will complete its first phase early next year, has been another issue of concern for the residents. Residents associations have been demanding shifting of the landing point of the first phase to avoid traffic congestion and maintain promenade’s natural sanctity.

Slums in few pockets have been regularly increasing despite strict rules and directives. Geeta Nagar, Shanti Nagar, Dhobi Ghat have witnessed these slums in last few years.
http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/9382/1ev0.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1ev0.jpg)

Also, Akruti Nirman has this 45 storey project in one of their ads in TOI.

]http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/2962/akrutiestate45te8.jpg

Unfortunately, thier website seems to be down, so I'm not sure of the project's name and exact location

It's the 'upcoming' Akruti Lakewoods in Thane.
Architect: Deepak Mehta

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/86/akruitilakewoodbombayol6.jpg

Looks like the Sarvodaya Heights has a different look now

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4470/sarvodayaheightscc8.jpg

The older render
http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/1961/mulunundtowersyf4.th.jpg (http://img504.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mulunundtowersyf4.jpg)

From April 2008, Bandra to Worli in 15 minutes
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3876/060120070010030102b90c6bw3.jpg
Hindustantimes Epaper
06 Jan 06
Ketaki Ghoge, Mumbai

CHIEF MINISTER Vilasrao Deshmukh has said that the Bandra-Worli sealink will be operational from April 2008. In an exclusive chat in the HT newsroom on Friday, Deshmukh revealed: “Just this morning, I spoke to the contractor and got an assurance on the date.” The eight-lane sealink — capable of handling 1.4 lakh vehicles a day — will cut travel time from Bandra to Worli to 15 minutes from the 45 minutes it takes now. The 5.6-km sealink, delayed by four years, will cost Rs 1,401 crore. When commissioned in 1999, it was budgeted at Rs 665 crore.

Deshmukh, the first guest in the ‘Coffee With HT’ series, cautioned: “Traffic problems will not be resolved unless we complete the second link — from Worli to Nariman Point (which includes the controversial Pedder Road flyover) — too.” Elaborating on the traffic situation, the CM asserted: “Our pace is slow, but reforms have begun”. He also ruled out a congestion tax for car owners.

The Bandra-Worli sealink bypasses the 23 signals that you would normally encounter between Bandra and Worli. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh (left) has been assured that it will be functional from April 2008.

No congestion tax Ruling out measures like a congestion tax on car owners to tackle the traffic problem, Deshmukh said that “awareness was needed first”. He, however, pointed out that other means of mass transport — like the skybus — were being introduced.

Rising tide Deshmukh pointed out that there was a critical need to develop the city’s waterways as a means of transport. If that happens, he pointed out, the pressure on the roads would decrease significantly.
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7307/1gr1.th.jpg (http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1gr1.jpg)

Awesome finds Sun! Boom times indeed!

Akruti Lakewoods looks great, and its waterfront location is an added bonus. Deepak Mehta is an awesome architect. Seems the guestimate of 45 stories was correct

Sarvodaya Heights looks a helluva lot better than it did -- more glass! There is no way in hell those towers are 38 and 27 stories each: I count two towers: one of 52 stories and another of 40 stories... that's up from the former height of 40-stories each! :) Their 'height' discounts the podium, stilts and the two-floor penthouses up top! :|

Sarvodaya Heights looks a helluva lot better than it did -- more glass! I count two towers: one of 52 stories and another of 40 stories... that's up from the former height of 40-stories each! :)

Boom times indeed!

The advt says 38 and 29 storeys plus 4 level car park. That's 42 and 32 storeys. The spires look at least 6-8 storey tall.

Larger renderings of Whispering Palms XX-lucive and Sapphire Heights:
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/1684/a2tt5.th.jpg (http://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?image=a2tt5.jpg) http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5349/a1zd0.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=a1zd0.jpg)

what a couple of stars you 2 are.Cheers for the continued updates.

Sun........................This one will be a real beauty.
Akruti Lakewoods
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/86/akruitilakewoodbombayol6.jpg

The Powai skyline never ceases to amaze me. I used to pass by that area everyday enroute to work. The number of skyscrpaers seem much more than what used to be 5 yrs ago. Looks like the Hiranandanis are going to build right upto the hill. Thanks for all the lovely pics Jai and SC.

News from Navi Mumbai....

Building height reduced to ensure free flight
DNA Mumbai epaper 07 Jan 07
Aviation rules force Ellora in Belapur to reduce total floors from 27 to just 15

Anisha Ashokan. CBD Belapur

Sky is the limit for builders in the city with towers touching greater heights. To ensure that free flight is not hitched, aviation rules have been applied on city buildings trying to touch the sky. Ellora at Belapur was supposed to be the second tallest building in Navi Mumbai when planned, but due to application of aviation rules its growth was stunted. A project by Siddhi Homemakers and Bhoomi Builders, the towers supposed to be 27 storeyed are now 15-storeyed. The nodes that fall under height restriction are CBD, Nerul, Kharghar, Kamothe, Kalamboli, Panvel and Ulwe.

Bhoomi Group director Vijay Gajra said, “The aviation rules restrict building’s growth to 50 metres for all structures at CBD, due to which we had to restrict the height.” The sector 11 building will have three towers of 2 and 3 BHK and all amenities on the first floor. Another project by Bhoomi constructions is being marketed as the tallest in Navi Mumbai with its 31-storeyed two towers at sector 10, Sanpada.

Ellora being built on 4000 sq metre plot opposite Belapur Railway Station which was being sold at Rs 5100 per sq ft while in December it was priced at Rs 3250 per sq ft. One of the officials said, “Most builders have accepted the aviation rules and restricted the building growth. They have no option and most of them are recovering their initial cost, as the realty rates have gone high.” The residential part of the building will start from second floor as the first floor will include indoor swimming pool, garden and indoor games like billiards, carrom etc and a room for music and health club. The earlier plan includes penthouses on the last two floors, which have been removed from the present plan. Possession of 72 flats would be handed over in March 2008, said a partner in the project.

my dads freinds live in hirandani complex and its in on eof the 3 tall buildings not sure if they are the tallest ones but i do know they are twins and the tower they lived in was used in shooting the intro scene to bollywood movie dus

anyway when looking out of their window/balcony(dont remember) u caould see the hills and the swollen ponds due to monsoons and the water falls it was sooo beautiful but we also saw a bunch of construction trucks goign that way so idk

Guys... I was talking to someone who was in India on business last year. He said that the big news at the time was that Ambani and Reliance Industries was planning to build a WTB in Navi Mumbai. Since then, Reliance's Mahamumbai SEZ (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=2112839&postcount=6) has been approved.

A question to Mumbaites... have you heard of this rumor?

i hate to say this but i dont think its possible at least not right now but hey by the time it actually gets rolling if it does maybe mumbai and india will be ready for it

idk but i saw somethin about a building called obelisk or something was thinking of being built in hyderabad but it was supposed to be tallest or something

For posterity's sake, some floor counts:
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SEZ Projects, unknown location (in Mumbai/Navi Mumbai?)
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/8484/002b636251yx9.jpg
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/6383/003b6373a6bp4.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates

-----==--=--==-----
First SEZ project 26 stories

Second SEZ project, 30 stories


Aaaand Cross posting from the wrong thread I posted it in:
-----==--=--==-----

G. C. Complex, Thane: various buildings up to 30 stories
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8411/003b6ef610sc9.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5663/004b6f0254cl2.jpg

Architect Ajit Bhuta and Associates

-----==--=--==-----
At least 26 buildings of 30 stories each, at least 3-2 buildings of 15 stories each

Gold rush for Regular Joe
Hindustantimes Epaper
January 09, 2007
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3554/09012007001022012ep7.jpg
Middle-class Santacruz residents hit jackpot with redevelopment deal

Gurbir Singh
Mumbai

MORE THAN 600 middle-class families, who could not even afford to repair their old buildings so far, are suddenly protagonists in Mumbai's latest gold rush.

Residents of Khira Nagar, a prominent middle class complex in Santacruz on the arterial SV Road, have struck a deal with the Pune based Kumar Developers to cash out and sell their flats to the developer at Rs 18,000 per square foot. This is three times the average market rate for residential property in the locality.

As a result, a flat owner with a 1,000 sq ft apartment will be richer overnight by Rs 1.8 crore.

It seems to be the mother of all redevelopment deals. And redevelopment here would mean converting old residential colonies into spanking commercial complexes.

With about 80 per cent of the 640 flat owners in Khira Nagar having expressed willingness to cash out, Kumar Developers will be shelling out around Rs 900 crore to take possession of their flats.

But that also means hundreds of new millionaires will be out in the market searching for new flats... and driving up prices further.

The alternative is to stay on and get a brand new flat with 36 per cent additional carpet area. In addition, those who stay back will get a fund for maintenance at Rs 1,503 per sq ft -- or about Rs 15 lakh for a 1,000 sq ft flat.

"The buildings constructed in 1978 were old and dilapidated and we invited tenders for a redevelopment project," Hiren Ambegaonkar, a committee member of the Khira Nagar Association said.

Most residents seem overwhelmed. In the initial round 15 builders -- the who's who in the construction business -- put in their bids. In the final shortlist, the aspirants included Wadhva Developers with an offer of Rs 13,500 per sq ft, Kalpataru with Rs 15,300 per sq ft, and Mayfair Housing at Rs 12,000 per sq ft.

Khira Nagar is a federation of 16 buildings and housing societies spread over eight acres. Size of the flats varies from 300 sq ft to 1,600 sq ft. Those cashing out will be paid 10 per cent of the sum immediately, and the balance when they vacate the flat in 3-6 months after they sign up with the builder.

Chief Promoter of Kumar De velopers Lalit Jain was reluctant to reveal details about his develop ment plans, but conceded it would have to be a commercial realty project to make it viable. Local res idents said the builder was also considering developing a mall.

*640 The number of flat owners in Khira Nagar
*Rs 900 cr The amount paid by Kumar Developers to acquire the colony
*Rs 1.8 cr The amount received for a 1,000 sq feet flat

rs. 18,000/sq ft in santa cruz? thats ridiculous. unless the builder is getting way more fsi than what is currently being utilised

anyone wanna get in on this if theyre ok with it

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=416691

Huh? India's not part of ASEAN..

oh my bad i didnt see the asean thing

Some interesting construction updates from the Cityscapes thread:

1. DSK Durgamata topped out:
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2588/3wy4.jpg

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2. The Legend Tower almost topped out:
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/7603/1rk3.jpg

Another view of the Legend Tower u/c from an angle I haven't seen yet. Slightly older photo (late last year) it seems (edited for clarity):
http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/7536/1tg6.jpg

-----==-=-==-----

3. A very recent view (this month) of the rising Mumbai skyline:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4280/2ni7.jpg

-----==-=-==-----

Thanks for that Jai! thats great.

Like the DSK Tower very much and stands out well like it should. Also like the trendy boats on the sea.

I do think Legend is slow in being finished. Perhaps it had last minute design changes???

The city skyline has changed so much in the last 3-5 years than the last 20 years!!

Things can only get better (i hope).

It's the 'upcoming' Akruti Lakewoods in Thane.
Architect: Deepak Mehta

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/86/akruitilakewoodbombayol6.jpg


One doubt, what about CRZ restrictions? Aren't they in practice? Seems zoning exemptions are there..

Think that is an artists impression so not exactly will be on the sea front or on the SRZ one hopes.

Think that is an artists impression so not exactly will be on the sea front or on the SRZ one hopes.

hmmm...if it is not on the sea front as shown in the perspective, then the builder is giving a wrong picture. A waterfront projects always gets much premium

Thats true but then again renders always change so it cant all be trusted I suppose. Its locations should be confirmed by the builders web-site? Thats if ist under constuction or proposed???

BTW I think this building should be built in Nariman Point, Worli or Cuff Parade as it would look far better and would improve the skyline in these areas.

BTW I think this building should be built in Nariman Point, Worli or Cuff Parade as it would look far better and would improve the skyline in these areas.

Worli may be.But its impossible to find a plot big enough to fit in a project like this. Even if a plot is available just imagine its price.Cuffe Parade and Narimanpoint are the most expensive places in in South Asia as far as property rates are concerned.

Worli may be.But its impossible to find a plot big enough to fit in a project like this. Even if a plot is available just imagine its price.Cuffe Parade and Narimanpoint are the most expensive places in in South Asia as far as property rates are concerned.

^^

That true Mystic. NP & CP are very expensive indeed hence the developments in the suburbs of Mumbai. However I hope that NP and CP can be further improved as these areas need revamping.

i have a question i keep reading about like new buildings and proposals and stuff for like worli, thane, powai(mostly hirandani) .... i was jus wonderin wut happened to bandra, khar, santa cruz, andheri i thuahgt werent they supposed to be like the elite areas and stuff
idk i lived/live(long story) in bandra and u.s.a but like we were trying on gettin our building rebuilt not tdr but rebuilt and i think tdr was the new trend cause there were like a whole lotta buildings under tdr but anyway
does anyone know of any plans for the western subabarbs mostly like bandra and adjoining

On brink of a makeover, here’s why all eyes are on BMC polls

Kavitha IyerPosted online: Monday, January 15, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print Email

MUMBAI, JANUARY 14: All municipalities build drains and sewers. Many run crematoria, hospitals and primary schools too. But, globally, nowhere does a civic corporation also operate an intricate electricity supply system with 8,20,000 consumers, a fleet of 3,400 buses carrying 45 lakh passengers every day, Asia’s largest urban water supply network, colleges where the country’s best medical students aspire to study, a clutch of museums — there’s even a sex museum — and theme gardens, markets and heritage tours.

So, when Mumbai’s 83 lakh voters cast their vote at the February 1 elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), they’ll be deciding how the city with global dreams — poised at the brink of a critical makeover — will run in the future, what roads the investor from New York will drive his Toyota on, how much water supply will reach the international convention centre at Bandra Kurla Complex, how the tourist routes will liven up, whether Nariman Point’s influential will pay more property tax.

Projects worth Rs 3,000 crore have been submitted under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission by the BMC alone, apart from the Rs 1,800-crore Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drainage Project. Also, following the 944-mm deluge of July 2005, there’s a sense that the coming couple of years are crucial — Mumbai can do a Shanghai or crumble completely under its own weight.

But across party lines, all agree it’s Mumbai’s kingsize budget that makes the BMC election so vital. “The largest civic budget in India,” says Congress MP Milind Deora, readying campaign schedules for elections to 10 municipalities across Maharashtra on February 1. “So economically, that’s a huge reason.” BJP city unit leader Shaina NC agrees: “No other election is as important,” she says. “Look at its budget, it’s more than several states’ annual budgets.”

That’s old hat now. But the numbers are still incredible: For 2006-07, outlays for capital expenditure alone were over Rs 3,674 crore. Add to that the revenue account expenditure of Rs 6,190 crore and the figure creeps towards Rs 10,000 crore. (Arunachal Pradesh’s annual budget this year was Rs 1,500 crore, the other north-eastern states’ have similar budgets, Uttaranchal’s was Rs 6,000 crore.)

Append the BEST budget — the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s own transport and electricity supply undertaking — and the gross total budget outlay for 2006-07 is Rs 12,500 crore. Still, weigh it against tax contributions — Rs 58,000 crore annually — to the Centre and it’s chickenfeed, grumble industrialists and bloggers.

But contractors to corporators, everybody agrees that true to Mumbai’s nature, its civic body means big business. “Though it should not happen,” says senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, “when corruption is rampant, people want to become BMC corporators for the money they can earn.”

Then there’s power, apart from revenue collection and policing, all else about governing Mumbai is left to the 134-year-old civic body, points out Parag Alavani, a lawyer, two-time BJP corporator and party leader in the BMC. “From birth certificates to death certificates, electricity supply, transport, emergency services, water supply, primary education, health services, infrastructure, every aspect of a Mumbaiite’s life is touched by the BMC,” Alavani says.

So, some combination of prosperity and power leads party activists to the BMC polls, says a Youth Congress leader, first-time BMC ticket-seeker now hoping to grow in stature within the party. After all, Joshi, a former Lok Sabha Speaker and Maharashtra chief minister before that, was once a BMC corporator and then Mumbai mayor in 1976-77.

Like Joshi, several prominent BMC corporators have made it big in state and national politics — NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal was once mayor, so was Murli Deora, Speaker Datta Nalawade was once a BMC corporator, as were MLAs Gopal Shetty, Ashok Jadhav, Baba Siddique, etc.

The younger Deora recollects how his father, former Mumbai mayor and now Union petroleum minister would explain the significance of BMC elections. “Rubbish, I’d say,” he remembers. “Over time, I understood.” With a minister and an MP in the house, when there’s a water crisis or anxiety over a fresh crop of highrises around their Pedder Road home, the Deoras must talk to their local corporator, Congressman Gunvant Sheth.

“And, as local infrastructure issues gain prominence, people must realise that the right occasion to come out and voice their worries is the civic election,” Deora says. “This is the election that decides Mumbai.”

—(with inputs from Swatee Kher)

kavitha.iyer@expressindia.com

Making of the sea link: An exhibition centre for someday motorists

Lots of info on the technology & some trivia: the weight of the sea link equals that of 50,000 African elephants, its length is 63 Qutab Minars end to end

Kavitha Iyer

Mumbai, January 16: LONG before Mumbai’s motorists can take that seven-minute ride from Bandra to Worli, an utterly gripping half-hour tour beckons: Spread across 2,000 sq ft, at the Bandra sea link construction site, is an exhibition centre where Mumbaiites can begin to feel proud of their biggest engineering marvel yet.

From wall montages to miniature models, from plasma screens to little factoids, this chic brainchild of sea link contractor Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has been almost a year in the making. With trial visits on, no less than Amitabh Bachchan was given a guided tour recently. “It’s fascinating,” he says to a web camera recording visitors’ comments.

There are three 32-inch LCD televisions and one 42-inch plasma screen playing short films on HCC’s various mega-projects, detailing how the horizon-altering cable-stayed bridge will be erected, how the foundations were laid underwater. A series of wall panels do a clever combination of actual photographs and imaging, showing what the seascape will look like in 2008. There’s serious number-crunching too—how many vehicles jam the narrow Mahim Causeway, how many traffic signals will be reduced by the sea link and traffic projections.

Visitors with a taste for technical minutiae, like engineering students, can have an HCC engineer chaperoning: And they’ll find that the engineers—top of the crop, some poached from other infrastructure majors—have spent hours on design software RM Space Frame 2006. “For a decision on the smallest measurement, we’ve sometimes waited eight hours for the fastest computers to execute one command—that’s the kind of data to be processed,” says an HCC spokesperson.

In an egg-shaped portion where you can feel like a pedestrian on the sea link are four touch-screen computers with Google Earth letting you tap your way to a view of Bandra and Worli. There are models of the launching truss, which took almost a year to customise, fabricate in iron and steel and erect at location. At 1,260 tonnes, this mammoth equipment necessitated the visit of giant marine crane Asian Hercules when it had to be lifted from one end to another. There’s information on other unique equipment too—a vibrohammer, an RCD drill bit with diamond tips for drilling into rock, for example.

And everywhere, trivia: the weight of the sea link equals that of 50,000 African elephants, its length is 63 Qutab Minars lying end to end.

At a clear glass window, a 1,200mm focal length telescope and binoculars let you watch the continuing construction. You’ve seen workers before. Now, watch in awe and deference.

Look Out For
* A foot-long piece of a steel wire, not for the feeble-wristed: These stress-relieved high tensile galvanized steel wires are only 7 mm thick, but have improved mechanical properties. After all, these slender wires are bunched together in varying sequences to form 264 cables that will hold up the 125-metre high cable-stayed bridge. Another factoid: Line up all the steel wires and there’s enough to go around the earth’s circumference.
* Models of pylons at the base of the cable-stayed bridge, a global first in pylon design: Each rounded pylon has a “double inclination”, tilting towards the centre from either direction. While double inclination pylons have been built, for example at Rion Antirion, Greece, the complex geometry here makes every millimetreof each leg vary from the next.
* Models of the 150-tonne precast concrete segments: The bridge comprises 2,353 such segments, each one varying slightly and with an identification mark defining its exact location in the bridge. Segments to be laid in June and July are already waiting in HCC’s casting yard, where they’re stacked in three tiers. Their combined weight required the soil to be specially strengthened, with moorum and wet mix macadam spread in layers and compacted.

(Entry is through prior requests and invitation. Contact HCC at 25775959.)

fucking ridiculous prices, 900 crores for less than an acre. people have seriously gone mad. also wonder how much of the money will be put back into the city network, or will it go into the railways black-hole

Rly plot at CST fetches 903 cr for budget hotel

Devraj Dasgupta | TNN

Mumbai: The Indian Railways hit pay dirt on Thursday when its 3,900 square metre plot (less than one acre) near CST in south Mumbai fetched Rs 903 crore. This winning bid to build and operate a budget hotel on a 30-year lease came from a consortium of Essel Group company G L Hotels Ltd and Pan Indian Hotels Ltd, the Indian franchisee of the Inter Continental hotel chain.
The consortium beat five competitors when bids were opened at the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) office in New Delhi on Thursday.
Real estate sources say it’s yet another instance of the mad rush to snap up land in the city at mind-boggling prices. To put the deal into perspective, Mukesh Ambani’s RIL had paid Rs 1,104 crore for an 18.5-acre plot at the Bandra-Kurla complex last year.

70% of budget hotel rooms to be charged at market rates


Mumbai: Those who were in the race to buy the railways’ less-than-1-acre-plot near CST on lease were Indian Hotels (Taj Group), Delhi-based Zoom Royal Orchid, Signet Hotels run by a group of NRIs, Bangalore-based MRMGF-Aqua and Hyderabad-based Shree Shakti Hotels and Resorts.
According to railway officials who spoke to TOI, the winning bid is a “bombshell’’ of an offer and such a high price was least expected for the plot. Interestingly, the second highest bid lagged way behind at Rs 476 crore.
The Rs 903 crore bid includes a licence fee of Rs 866 crore and fixed use charges of Rs 37 crore to be paid to the Indian Railways over a period of 30 years. “On an average, the consortium will have to pay the railways Rs 30 crore per year,’’ sources said.
The land will be given to the consortium on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. Property market sources say the location is ideal for a budget hotel because of its proximity to the city’s largest railway station, which sees 70,000 outstation passengers passing through its gates.
Railway officials said that 30% of the rooms in the new hotel will be priced on par with railway retiring rooms while the remaining 70% will be charged at market rates.
Although, the bidders had initially insisted on a 50-year lease for a better rate of return, the railway ministry stuck to its tender condition of 30 years on a BOT agreement. The consortium will have to hand over the hotel to the railways after the lease is over. The hotel will come up on the land currently housing the Railway Claims Tribunal. The RCT will be soon be demolished to make way for the hotel.
R D Sharma, group general manager of IRCTC (West), while confirming the Carnac Bunder deal, said the railways expects to have four more budget hotels at Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Kurla and CST. Officials said the hotel will have two entrances, one facing P D’Mello road and the other one leading to CST station, said IRCTC officials.

works out to rupees 2.3 million per sq/m for undelevoped land. or $51,500 per sq/m. i dont know if these numbers are right. this is taking prices in bombay up by an order of magnitude

From Jan '07 Construction World magazine:
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/5976/1ua9.jpg

Some info about Chattan.

http://ia.rediff.com/money/2007/jan/20spec3.htm

Standing tall at 36 storeys, the building on the old Chattan Bungalow site at Altamount Road, being developed by K Raheja Universal, will blow your mind. The first 12 stories offer just amenities. The remaining 24 storeys have 12 duplex apartments stacked on top of each other. Each apartment has its own huge terrace and an elevator to take the car right up to the living room. The whole building itself is on a hill, enhancing the view.

Morgan Stanley invests Rs 675cr (US$152 million) in Oberoi Constructions

http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/pressmarket/morganstanleyrealestateinvested/morganstanleyinvestsrs675croberoiconstructions/market/stocks/article/262559

Morgan Stanley Real Estate has announced that it has invested Rs. 675 Crores (approximately US$152 million) in Oberoi Constructions, a leading Indian real estate developer, focusing on residential, commercial, retail and hospitality projects.

MPE has this cool looking tower coming up at Borivali (West), of 40 stories + podium + stilt

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5025/2894mains7tu.jpg


Any ideas on this one?

Some info about Chattan.

http://ia.rediff.com/money/2007/jan/20spec3.htm
Cool news Sun. K Raheja Universal is one of the real estate development companies whose new projects I'm really looking forward to see this year.

In an interview with Realty Plus magazine (http://www.realtyplusmag.com/interview_fullstory.asp?interview_id=25), the Managing Director mentioned that they will inaugurate a buttload of new projects this year.
Currently we have around five million sq. ft. under development across Mumbai, comprising of luxurious residential towers/complexes, commercial buildings, IT Parks and shopping complexes. Value-wise, this is very high, keeping in mind Mumbai’s capital value...

We are gearing up to initiate another 12 million sq. ft. of real estate in 2007.
So in other words, they will double their presence in Mumbai alone, and in the article it's mentioned that they'll do another 10 million sq. ft. in other Indian cities.

In addition to all the residential projects, we also have thier "signiature office tower", Raheja One, to look forward to.

Jai

Thats a good rendering. hopfully, 40F towers becomes a norm for Bombay in near future.

Awesome Sun.. thanks for uploading the large render :)

Looks about 46-47 stories, with podium et al

its all happening, as mumbai enters the 21st C
& thanks for wicked panos in mumbai cityscapes.Im in the land of economic dragon - though not shanghai - from next week so will be an intertesting comparison for me.

Looks like we're in for some cool towers in the near future...DNA India has this storey on what 2007 will be for Mumbai:

2007 -- Year of Super Luxury Construction
Mumbaikars need to get set for elite building projects in 2007. Elegantly designed, they will offer spacious flats with fantastic views and luxurious amenities.


Nothing succeeds like success, especially where Mumbai's real estate is concerned. Every new project being launched is more upscale and premium than its predecessor. The concept of 'bigger and better' met with an overwhelming response in 2006 and now, the stage is set for elegantly designed, elite projects offering spacious flats with fantastic views and luxurious amenities in 2007.

Exceeding expectations appears to be the common theme where new appartment concepts are concerned and with good reason

...

Due to the limited availability of luxury projects in prime South Mumbai locations, several suburban areas are emerging as attractive options. Powai already enjoys a phenomenal positioning that puts it practically on par with Worli Seaface. Bandra-Kurla Complex witnessed the launch of its first high-end premium residential project.
Full article here:
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/6712/2bricks1morthaelargeib4.th.jpg (http://img249.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2bricks1morthaelargeib4.jpg)

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Why we lost our mills (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1075398)
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9451/19a07ap009large1sv3.jpg
Rajshri Mehta
Saturday, January 20, 2007 00:42 IST

Darryl D’Monte stresses on higher FSI and better planning.

MUMBAI: Land has to be more liberally utilised if the city has to cater to the housing needs of its bludgeoning population, Sanjay Ubale, secretary (special projects) said at the launch of Mills for Sale: The way ahead, a book edited by social activist Darryl D’Monte, on Friday.

“Low FSI is anti poor,” said Ubale, advocating the need for higher floor space index (FSI). “A rethink is needed to raise the FSI levels as it is a way to develop houses.” A compilation of essays by architects, planners, activists intimately connected with the mill redevelopment issue, Mills for Sale… details how the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to plan 600 acres of defunct textile mill land was lost.

D’Monte said, “The book will serve as a reminder of what the city has lost and what needs to be done to avoid such blunders in future. It is also to point to the alternatives that still exist and what implications there are for other large derelict industrial sites.’’ Former municipal commissioner and social activist Jamshed Kanga said, “Lack of proper planning caused this problem. All decisions were taken in an ad-hoc manner in favour of builders. The MMRDA has forgotten that it is a planning body and now operates like a road building agency.’’

Structural engineer and civic activist Shirish Patel said that the city has the highest population density occupying per gross hectare of land. Eminent Architect Charles Correa asked for east-west corridors to be developed.

I wonder how much damage low FSI has already done?

Id hate to think that so much has already been built in the confines of old policy, that the cities are already handicapped.

Hope the authorities learn from this.

Mumbai lost a golden opportunity to redevelop itself last year with all the mill sales.

The key is better planning and projecting way into the future. Mumbai needs a masterplan for the next 30 years or so to help plan its growth and rid the city of the slums or it never will.

Things to look forward to are:

A modern, efficient and bigger int. airport.
More housing
More department stores
Better roads
Bandra Worli Sea Link
Mumbai Metro
Better sewerage and drainage system
taller buildings

But needs:

Corporate Towers
Integrated Transport system
Spruce & maintain tourist attractions

to name but a few

Let me be frank here

Bombay at present is a 'crippled' city thanks to socialist rules & regulations, vote hungry political parties and lack of vision for future. & I am afraid it will stay that way because political helm is impotant & lacks education so therefore willpower to get things done in city's interest. The only way Bombay's infrastructural woes will be solved keeping in mind its an Island city:

1. Two 16 (8x8) lanes each Eastern & Western Coastal Expressway: A must in next 5 yrs to keep the alarming levels of pollution away from the main island itself and towards Arabian Sea. With completely linked to 10 lane Trans harbor Bridge and BWSL.

2. 60% Underground MetroRail: As soon as possible in next 6-8 yrs to make the city fully functional & ease the traffic from the roads/flyovers/highways/expressways.

3. Atleast 10 laned Trans Harbor Sealink with Metro Rail connecting mainland & creating vast suburbs.

4. Atleast 50-70 Floor Corporate Towers: Due to the lack of space for Parking & Public Parks. Gov't should force the Corporation to build as tall as they can & leave as much space open for Parking and public utility for future.

5. Complete Modernization of Drainage and underground Electric Cableing: This is a must in next 6-7 yrs. Bombay is always under the curse of Monsoon so drainage should be modernized to today's standards from the British Raj. All cables in the Bombay must go underground to decrease hazards and stolen electricity.

6. Slums replaced by Gov't subsidised supertall residentials for low income: ala Hong Kong style. All the precious land available as slum dwellers living under few tall 30F towers clears up all the space for parking, parks and future corporate towers.

unfortunately, none of this will be done properly with planning because Indian politicians are illiterate and incompetant.

Let me be frank here

Bombay at present is a 'crippled' city thanks to socialist rules & regulations, vote hungry political parties and lack of vision for future. & I am afraid it will stay that way because political helm is impotant & lacks education so therefore willpower to get things done in city's interest. The only way Bombay's infrastructural woes will be solved keeping in mind its an Island city:

1. Two 16 (8x8) lanes each Eastern & Western Coastal Expressway: A must in next 5 yrs to keep the alarming levels of pollution away from the main island itself and towards Arabian Sea. With completely linked to 10 lane Trans harbor Bridge and BWSL.

2. 60% Underground MetroRail: As soon as possible in next 6-8 yrs to make the city fully functional & ease the traffic from the roads/flyovers/highways/expressways.

3. Atleast 10 laned Trans Harbor Sealink with Metro Rail connecting mainland & creating vast suburbs.

4. Atleast 50-70 Floor Corporate Towers: Due to the lack of space for Parking & Public Parks. Gov't should force the Corporation to build as tall as they can & leave as much space open for Parking and public utility for future.

5. Complete Modernization of Drainage and underground Electric Cableing: This is a must in next 6-7 yrs. Bombay is always under the curse of Monsoon so drainage should be modernized to today's standards from the British Raj. All cables in the Bombay must go underground to decrease hazards and stolen electricity.

6. Slums replaced by Gov't subsidised supertall residentials for low income: ala Hong Kong style. All the precious land available as slum dwellers living under few tall 30F towers clears up all the space for parking, parks and future corporate towers.

unfortunately, none of this will be done properly with planning because Indian politicians are illiterate and incompetant.


True Said Very True.

I don't quite understand all this talk about leaving space for parking - this is a mistake that much of North America is still suffering from.

I don't quite understand all this talk about leaving space for parking - this is a mistake that much of North America is still suffering from.

who cares about rest of north america. Just drive into Manhattan, you'd know. Bombay is land starved island. Build supertall & save as much land for parking & public parks as possible.

Just drive into Manhattan, you'd know. Bombay is land starved island. Build supertall & save as much land for parking & public parks as possible.

I've been to Manhattan - it's very built up and whatever few parking lots that remain are being swallowed up for towers. Luckily, NYC is served by fairly good and extensive transit, and because driving is an expensive habit, the towers do not need as many parking spaces.

I agree with building tall and thin towers to create open spaces, but not with leaving space for parking that only encourages and facilitates driving. You can build parking garages underground or into the buildings without setting aside specific land for garages or surface parking lots. That was mainly what I was getting at.

From 28 Jan, TOI Epaper

Real estate bonanza on cards
Cidco Set To Unlock Land Equalling 50 Oval Maidans
Yogesh Naik | TNN

Mumbai: Along with a brand new airport in Panvel, the city will also get a huge land mass the size of 50 Oval Maidans.

Then the Greenfield International Airport comes up at Panvel, landlord Cidco (City and Industrial Development Corporation) will sell a 470-hectare (1,161 acre) plot for development—hotels, airline offices, malls, multiplexes, in-flight caterers, among them.

“The sprawling plot on the periphery of the airport will be auctioned when the airport comes up. It will be sold for activities related to the airport,’’ Deepak Kapoor, joint managing director, Cidco, said.

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/723/82521493rf2.png

According to sources in the marketing department of Cidco, a conservative estimate pegs the value of the land at Rs 3,290 crore. “But it could well fetch us up to Rs 15,000 crore once the airport comes up,’’ an official said. The money earned from the sale will be used to fund several infrastructure projects.

Cidco will develop the airport along with the Airports Authority of India and a private bidder on a plot more than 1,000 hectares in size. Cidco and AAI will each have a 13 per cent stake, while the rest will be held by the successful bidder. “Since most international flights will terminate at the new airport, there will be a demand for hotels and allied activities. The airport will cater to 50 million passengers annually. We have ample land to accommodate airport-related activities,’’ a Cidco official said.

Part of the funds raised by Cidco may be used to connect the airport with Mumbai by hovercraft, rail, metro rail, and the Nhava-Airport expressway.

The project received clearance from Delhi recently. Sahar airport is getting busier by the day and will be saturated by 2014. Phase I of the new airport will cost Rs 5,000 crore and is expected to be operational by 2012.

FLYING PROFIT

Cidco will sell a 470-hectare (1,161 acre) plot for development—hotels, airline offices, malls, multiplexes, inflight caterers, among them

The sprawling plot on the periphery of the airport will be auctioned when the airport comes up

A conservative estimate pegs the value of the land at Rs 3,290 crore

^^

Well said Hindustani!!!

If the authorities learn from this Mumbai can be save from doom:cheers:

yeh they need to step up a notch

btw the newer buildings that are being built are kinda top nothc like they have basics and amenaties which are really good and im not even talking bout like the tall ones but even the newer builidngs that would have areound 7 floors even have good stuff i think the standard of living is constantly being raised for mumbais middle class

my building in bandra is being redeveloped it should take like some time but we were reading like the contract or w.e and it had some good stuff that would be pretty sweet

Yes. Its a big "IF". If the Trans Harbor final renderings are anything less than 10 lanes without metrorail future proposal, Bombay will get no where. That means they are thinking about 'present' alone. Future 10 yrs plan for Bombay requires MetroRail connecting Mainland with Island. Its required that such an important city like Bombay run by C.E.O type mentality people like Naidu, Tatas than these idiotic, mindless netas. In next 8 yrs, I see New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad overtake Bombay as more infrastructurally better and sound cities.


If the authorities learn from this Mumbai can be save from doom:cheers:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1910957,000600010004.htm

Kurla subway project changes purpose

Rajendra Aklekar

Mumbai, January 24, 2007

The city’s longest vehicular and pedestrian subway, connecting Kurla east and west, will not serve the purpose it was designed for.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will open the subway for pedestrians only. With Rs 2.6 crore already spent, this is a glaring example of how public money has gone waste.

The subway was completed in early 2005. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) asked the Veermata Jeejabai Technical Institute (VJTI) to conduct a feasibility study in 2005 end.

The VJTI report (a copy of which is with HT), submitted on January 30, 2006, has said that the vehicular subway project may now have to be shelved. Or if required, its status may be changed to a pedestrian subway — after around 70 per cent of the project is complete. But, this would defeat the purpose as there already two pedestrian bridges connecting Kurla east and west.

Work on the Rs 6-crore project began in 2001 in a joint venture between the BMC and the Central Railway. The Central Railway then issued work orders and building the subway under 10-12 running railway tracks was not an easy task.

When the railways informed the BMC about the project’s status, the BMC reportedly said they did not find the subway feasible and asked the VJTI to conduct a technical feasibility report.

But the three-page shabbily written report has ruled out a subway citing pollution and waterlogging during monsoon.
"This is a classic example of how government bodies function," Ashok Datar, chairman of Mumbai Environmental Social Network, told HT.

Saying that there is no coordination between Central Railway and the BMC, Datar added: "The BMC should have done a study first and then asked the railways to go ahead with the project."

The subway would have made travel easy especially for light vehicles that now take a 6-km route through Sion or Ghatkopar to go from Kurla east to west.

According to the railways, they went ahead with the project after approval by the municipal commissioner and hence they went ahead with the project. The railways were not told about the VJTI report. "We have completed our portion of the subway. The subway is ready and only waiting for openings to be built on both sides," divisional railway manager Ranjit Singh Virdi, Central Railway’s top boss told HT.

Datar is frustrated with the entire functioning. "There is utter confusion on both sides. The only truth is that huge amount of public money has gone down the drain," he said.

yhe this stuff shouldnt be happening i mean 6 crores is a lotta money, if not gonna be used for like infra projects it could have enve fed a lotta ppl

anyway we should prob do somthin to make stuff like this not happen and open the govs eyes and as Hindustani said go towards a CEO style gov that would be a good step in the pos direction

and we also know that the infra is also a regioin why foreign investors who are looking to set up bases in india/mumbai are kinda leaning away a little

Octavius has topped out

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/8526/octaviousstatusqx4.jpg

If anyone has some latest pictures or update on status of Nahar Amrit Shakti project request if you can share. Appreciate your help.

Bharat Diamond Bourse u/c
photo copyright designinwoodlandz

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/8348/bandrakurladesininwoodlsq3.jpg

Finally a pic of the Diamond Bourse!

Isn't this building finished yet? I thought I read somewhere that tenants have already moved in??

The Complex is supposed to be huge!

I've been to Manhattan - it's very built up and whatever few parking lots that remain are being swallowed up for towers. Luckily, NYC is served by fairly good and extensive transit, and because driving is an expensive habit, the towers do not need as many parking spaces.

I agree with building tall and thin towers to create open spaces, but not with leaving space for parking that only encourages and facilitates driving. You can build parking garages underground or into the buildings without setting aside specific land for garages or surface parking lots. That was mainly what I was getting at.

Yeh, its better to just encourage safe public transport and stuff. Not because of environment, but because it is the most efficient utilisation of space and in a highrise city, the bus/metro/walking seems to be best. People will still own cars (there are other uses for them even if all you get to work via public transport.

CITY’S BIGGEST SHOP STOP - For mall on mill, size no bar
From TOI Epaper
02 Feb 2006

Madhurima Nandy
Mumbai

IT IS going to be the mother of all malls. An 18 lakh square feet shopping sprawl — in which more than seven Atria malls can squeeze in — is coming up at Mumbai Textile Mill in Lower Parel.

This will be the biggest mall in the city. The only other malls that could be a close second are coming up in Kurla and Dahisar, measuring 16 lakh square feet each.

After mulling over plans for a software park, hotel, residential complex and a contemporary urban park, the DLF GroupAkruti Nirman combine, which is developing the mill, decided to exclusively go for retail space. The 17-acre mill was sold to DLF for a whopping Rs 702 crore by National Textile Corporation in 2005.

Retail experts said investment in retail brought maximum returns in the long run. With developers reportedly pumping in more than Rs 800 crore, retail was an obvious choice. While DLF is silent about the plan, architect Hafeez Contractor, who is doing the design and layout, said the mall would be an environment-friendly shopping destination with a difference. It would also have a multiplex and food courts.

“We are also ensuring that there is lots of green space,” said Contractor.

While digging has begun at the Mumbai Textile Mill site, retail industry sources said the project developers were in the last leg of talks with shopping, entertainment and retail consultants for tie-ups with a range of brands and multiplex chains.

madhurima.nandy@hindustantimes.com


Coming up...
Mall at Dahisar Check Naka: 16 lakh sq ft
Developer: Shahid Balwa

Mall at Golden Chemicals, Kurla:
16 lakh sq ft Developer: Kshitij Group

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/9291/0202200700101728e6e2ym9.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0202200700101728e6e2ym9.jpg)

Navi Mumbai

SC gives green signal to Palm Beach Residency

from DNA

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8162/palmbeachresidencyhf7.jpg

Stuck in a legal battle for long time, Asia’s widest complex by Vijay (Wadhwa) Associates has got the green signal by the Supreme Court (SC).
The project worth Rs 60 crore, Palm Beach Residency spread over 37,000 sq metres in Nerul (West) was being touted as the largest single residential complex. Approving the project, SC also directed to appoint a valuer and difference in value, if any be paid by the society to City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). Director of Wadhwa Group, Sanjay Chhabria said SC has decided to set aside the Bombay High Court order and allow the valuer to asses the difference in value if there is any payable to CIDCO.
Chhabria said, “In the next few days, SC will pass on the judgement to the state and we will request them to appoint a valuer as soon as possible. Following the valuation which would take another two to three weeks, we would like to go ahead with the project as there are many buyers waiting.” The project is expected to take another one-and-half year before it is complete. An amount of Rs 25,000 has to be paid to the original petitioner at High Court.
CIDCO had allotted prime plots on Palm Beach Road for six co-operative housing societies - Sea Queen, Amey, Sagarika, Sea Link, Sea View and Vinayak - at a fixed rate which was less than market rates. The plots were later found to be taken over by Wadhwa Developers. They started construction of nine towers of 23 floors each with 828 flats and 106 shops.
High Court in a ruling in November 2005 ordered CIDCO to re-allot the plots to the genuine housing societies after it was proved that the societies that applied for the same were fraudulently created. The HC order was passed on Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO People for Governance Trust, who pointed out that the six societies that applied for the land under the co-operative housing society scheme comprised of head-loaders and APMC market workers.

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Remember 45 storey Akruti Lakewoods in Thane?

Here's a night rendering:
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/139/58305094te5.jpg

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Anyone have any construction pics of Orchid Tower? It is supposed to be completed this year.
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/1955/elev14cec62fg9.jpg
http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/9031/locationmap4d6be2xl6.jpg

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Another 'Longest' building u/c in Thane
photo copyright buntycrazy

http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/4220/longestbuildingthanebunji9.jpg

^^ is it Laxminarayan Residency
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/5118/1gg6jc9.jpg

^^ is it Laxminarayan Residency


I believe so.

CITY’S BIGGEST SHOP STOP - For mall on mill, size no bar


http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/9291/0202200700101728e6e2ym9.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0202200700101728e6e2ym9.jpg)

cool. parel-dadar set to become a full-retail belt

Great projects!

Didn't know Palm Beach Residency contruction was halted.

Does Mumbai need yet another Mall???? With so many Malls over the last few years. For you guys in Mumbai will know more than me as I don't live there. It would have been good if the site was mixed use to include, housing, office, car park, leisure? oh and of course a park?

What do you think guys?

nah, too many residential projects imo and not enough retail of any size esp in south bombay. mixed use would be great if it included a hotel or a nice office tower, but such a large retail format will allow a hypermarket to serve south bombay, there is no other space available for this

it will include quite a bit of greens i think within this project. dlf will be using this to really make a statement and make a grand entry into the bombay market. on a personal level the only two things that would interest me are retail and parks, i'm not buying a house or office, so i am pretty happy

ok i randomly come across a video of some nut driving crazy in istanbul and i looked at it and their highway/freeway/expressway or w.e is a pretty decent. I mean no need to compare it to liek us or china but its good and india could use like some influence or more like tips from instanbul

well anyway heres the link if u wanna check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1EAN2t40PU&mode=related&search=

and dont yell at me and say i shouldnt drive like this cause i dont:)

^^ wut i dont understand from this is that it seems that turkey is right hand drive(where steering wheel is on right and u drive on left hand side of road) so where did this guy like hold his camera cause its really not looking safe.

i have another question something more sane

when is was in mumbai over the summer there was a thing where the bmc had to fix all the potholes and crappy road conditions in the city because some guy on a bike fell off when he hit a hole and got run over anywya they had a deadline but i think all they did was like fix the highways but left the rest of the streets and stuff

so my question is have they done anything about it has there been like anew law suit or anything

if there hasnt we need to file one :bash: :cheers:

Hi,
.....

i have another question something more sane

when is was in mumbai over the summer there was a thing where the bmc had to fix all the potholes and crappy road conditions in the city because some guy on a bike fell off when he hit a hole and got run over anywya they had a deadline but i think all they did was like fix the highways but left the rest of the streets and stuff

so my question is have they done anything about it has there been like anew law suit or anything

if there hasnt we need to file one :bash: :cheers:

Can you make a little more sense in your posts please? Punctuation really helps.

Jai....................thanks. How can we ever forget the only fully glass sleak 45F tower coming up in Thane. That night shot does lot of justice to the upcoming tower.
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Remember 45 storey Akruti Lakewoods in Thane?
Here's a night rendering:
http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/139/58305094te5.jpg
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More information on Reliance's new corporate office

Mukesh readies Rs1000 crore HQ (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1078256)
DNA Business Bureau
Tuesday, February 06, 2007 02:13 IST

MUMBAI: When it comes to Mukesh Ambani, think XXL. The Reliance Industries chairman is setting up what is arguably the costliest headquarters for an Indian corporation at the NOCIL Complex in Rabale, Navi Mumbai.

Costing over Rs1,000 crore, this “second headquarters” — the first will remain at Maker IV, Nariman Point — will comprise a 29-storey tower costing Rs470 crore, and a corporate park that will cost about Rs700 crore.

The corporate park will include six office blocks, a shopping and convention centre, and other facilities. The complex will not, however, house the group’s cutting-edge New Age venture, Reliance Life Sciences, which will continue in an adjacent complex.

Australia’s biggest builder, Leighton Holdings Ltd, has bagged the contract for the projects through its arm, Leighton Asia.

Construction will begin immediately. The corporate park will be ready next February. The skyscraper will be ready by November 2008.

More information on Reliance's new corporate office

Mukesh readies Rs1000 crore HQ (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1078256)

The press release from Leighton

http://www.leighton.com.au/verve/_resources/050207_mr.pdf

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6015/leightonrelianceuf1.jpg

Here is the rendering
http://www.meinhardtgroup.com/content/Projects.asp?ProjectID=3424&SectorID=-1&CountryID=96&Keywords=

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/8603/reliancecorporateparkjb9.jpg

Phoenix in talks for Shangri-La hotel in India (http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/news.asp?id=286101)
February 2, 2007

By Virendra Verma

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Phoenix Mills Ltd., an Indian property developer, is in talks with Singapore's Shangri-La Hotels to set up a hotel in financial hub Mumbai at an investment of 3 billion rupees, an official said.

Phoenix also separately plans to set up hotels in Goa and Chennai, besides developing malls and entertainment complexes in Bangalore, Pune and Raipur, Managing Director Ashok Ruia told Reuters.

"There would be huge expansion for the company in next few years," Managing Director Ashok Ruia told Reuters on Friday.

The Mumbai hotel would be at least a five-star property, could even be a seven-star one, and have shopping and entertainment options, Ruia said. It would be located next to the company's 'High Street Phoenix' mall in central Mumbai.

Phoenix had tied up with multi-screen cinema operator PVR Ltd. to include a seven-screen multiplex at the site, Ruia said.

"It is (going to be) a unique project with first three floors of shops, five floors of car park and hotel above it." (for future note: seven storey podium)

Ruia said the hotel project would later be transferred to a subsidiary of Phoenix and 49 percent ownership in that firm sold to investors.

Ruia said Phoenix founders, including himself, reduced their stake in the company in January from 84 percent to 78 percent and further plans were afoot "to sell three percent to FIIs."

Data on the BSE Web site showed foreign institutional investors such as Deutsche Securities and Matterhorn Ventures had bought the shares last month.

Some private companies of Phoenix founders owned lands on which the Goa and Chennai hotels would come up, Ruia said adding these firms would be merged with Phoenix. As a consequence, founders stake in the company would rise again.

But the founders' stake "will be reduced by selling shares by the company," Ruia said.

Though I wish it was atleaest 40F, its a good start for the office tower.


http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/8603/reliancecorporateparkjb9.jpg

Great projects! I also think the tower could be higher...oh well.

I also think Nariman Point needs to be revamped and with more taller buildings.
Some of the old buildings can be demolished to make way for the new. A tal order seeing that Nariman Point & South Mumbai are already congested.

http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&id=100541

Mumbai's skyscrapers add to civic woes
Anjali Doshi
Wednesday, February 7, 2007 (Mumbai):

Promoted by Vikas Kasliwal of Shree Ram Mills, Palais Royale is all set to be one of Mumbai's tallest and most luxurious skyscrapers.

The 700-feet high building, to be ready in 2009, boasts of indoor heated swimming pools, ample parking space and world-class fire safety norms.

Each one of the building's 80 flats will be 7,000 square feet, priced at roughly Rs 30,000 a square foot and costing a whopping Rs 21 crore.

However, Palais Royale is just one among many luxury skyscrapers coming up on Mumbai's mill lands, which will put a severe strain on the city's crumbling infrastructure.

Water supply being a major problem in South Mumbai, several high rises here are currently serviced by water tankers.

However, Kasliwal says infrastructure will not be an issue.

Height of luxury

But the debate over Mumbai's tallest building is hotly contested. At 45 storeys and 500 feet, Shreepati Arcade is currently Mumbai's tallest building.
Over the next two years, at least three projects will fight for that honour.

Imperial Towers (Tardeo) - 60 storeys
Lodha Constructions (Chinchpokli) - 57 storeys
Palais Royale (Worli) - 50 storeys

While each new skyscraper lends more definition to Mumbai's skyline, it also adds to the city's civic woes.

Any renderings etc?

Hopefully BMC will lay more water pipes and integrate such projects into their road corridor upgrades.

Rainwater harvesting in highrises needs to be considered too, after all Mumbai gets lots of rain.

edit

Speaking of video reports, NDTV has this on Lodha Bellessimo: High-end property in Mumbai (http://www.ndtv.com/ndtvvideo/default.asp?id=7882)
Aired on: [October 1, 2006]

It features an awesome model of the project by Lodha Group:
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2146/81273526fr0.jpg

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3017/95028572cs8.jpg

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/3776/98139375sb3.jpg

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/5196/71886674ko3.jpg

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1307/77952387jh9.jpg

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8770/75492259uh0.jpg


As well as a guided walkthrough through these ultra expensive flats

Real shift for real estate
NTC sale may change property dynamics in South Mumbai
Madhurima Nandy
Mumbai

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/6820/09022007004003003e1b772lg6.jpg

From HT Epaper
9 Jan 2007

BEFORE PUTTING its sprawling 50,000 square feet Ballard Estate office for sale, National Textile Corporation (NTC) will do the valuation of the property to set the reserved price before the property is sold.

“Once the valuation is done, we will invite tenders immediately We will also be serving no . tices to tenants to vacate the premises,” said NTC Managing Director O.P. Agrawal.

Senior NTC officials, however, said in case the tenants do not move out, the company would go ahead and sell the building along with its occupants.

This is not new to the corporation, which has on earlier occasions followed a similar procedure during the auction of Morarka Bungalow on Nepean Sea Road to Satellite Group along with the existing tenants.

Meanwhile, 50,000 square feet in a supply-starved area is surely good news. Rajesh Pandit, head of western region of real estate consultancy CB Richard Ellis, said though it would definitely add to the supply dynamics of south Mumbai’s posh commercial district, it remains to be seen what the profile of the companies would be who would go for the property.

Going by the index of transactions in Ballard Estate, south Mumbai-based property consultant S.G. Maheshwari said the number of ownership transactions were few. “There is hardly one transaction every year and the area is primarily occupied by individual company-owned buildings like Bombay Dyeing, Sarabhai Chemicals, Hindustan Construction Company and L&T,” he said.

The 15, NM Marg address was initially called Indu House when it was occupied by the Indu Group of Mills. Later, with the nationalisation of textile mills, NTC took over the office and had both its south and north Maharashtra offices there. During the late 1970s, NTC’s south Maharashtra office shifted to Chinchpokli and occupied a portion of the Apollo Mills.

madhurima.nandy@hindustantimes.com
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/1656/09022007004003e4a6aboh0.th.jpg (http://img114.imageshack.us/my.php?image=09022007004003e4a6aboh0.jpg)

Hi Guys,
Sorry if this is old news, but i've seen various estimates for Planet Godrej, in these threads.

Turns out that it is 46 floors.

I confirmed it, because my sister is purchasing a flat there :-)

Just thought i'd share..

Looks like the rapid skyscraperization of Worli-Parel is going to continue!

Especially with the sale of NTC's largest mill of 18 acres, there's potential for some really tall towers :cheers:



Saturday story GOLD RUSH - Four mills get ‘for sale’ tag
TOI Epaper
09 Jan 2007

Madhurima Nandy
Mumbai

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/764/10022007001009010567e7fmc6.jpg

THE STATE-RUN National Textile Corporation will soon put four more mills in Worli and Parel up for sale, freeing up 40 acres for real estate development in this land-starved city.

This area is twice that of the Oval Maidan and thrice that of Cooperage, both among the few remaining green spaces in the island city.

The textile company has already raised around Rs 2,000 crore from its first phase of sales, in which it had auctioned five mills after the Supreme Court lifted the legal impediment to the sale of Mumbai’s mill lands in March 2005.

Of the four mills to be sold in the second phase, the 18-acre Madhusudan Mill near Doordarshan in Worli is the corporation’s largest mill in Mumbai. The other three are Poddar Processors and Bharat Textile Mill, also in Worli, and Finlay Mill in Parel.

“We are awaiting the final nod from the state government,” said O.P. Agarwal, the corporation’s managing director told HT. “After that we invite tenders,” he said. He added that the company had decided to sell its remaining mills in phases.

The sale of textile mills, which played a central role in Mumbai’s industrialisation, remains a contentious issue because the 600 acres of mill land was initially meant for public amenities and low-cost housing.

The company last put a mill on the block two years ago, selling Kohinoor and Elphinstone mills. The state government took its time to clear the recent proposal, said a company official.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/8485/10022007001009565f0eaxu1.th.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10022007001009565f0eaxu1.jpg)

Mill auction to push prices through roof
TOI Epaper
09 Jan 2007

Madhurima Nandy
Mumbai

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/6136/100220070060340011e98f2pn9.jpg
(Above) Construction work underway 24/7 at Jupiter Mills SOUMITRA GHOSH/HT

REAL ESTATE prices in central Mumbai could rise because developers are expected to bid higher-than-market rates for the National Textile Corporation’s proposed auction of four mills in Worli and Parel, real estate consultants said.

The sale will free up 40 acres of land to private developers in this land-starved city, an area that is twice that of the Oval Maidan and thrice that of the Cooperage.

The textile company plans to sell the 18-acre Madhusudan Mill, its largest mill in Mumbai, Poddar Processors and Bharat Textile Mill, all three in Worli, and Finlay Mill in Parel.

The three mills in Worli could fetch more than the going rate of Rs 20,000 per sq ft and the one in Parel more than Rs 12,000 per sq ft, the consultants said.

“Prices will be as high if not more (than existing rates), with more developers coming in from out of Mumbai this time,” said Joy Gopal Sanyal, vice president at Trammel Crow Meghraj, a property consultant. He said these new developers might bid jointly for these bids with real estate funds.

Some consultants echoed a long-standing criticism of the government’s policy for mill lands, by pointing out that the city’s infrastructure could not bear the burden of further private development.

“There needs to be some method in the madness,” said Pranay Vakil, chairman of Knight Frank India. “There needs to be some regulation.” Real estate prices in Mumbai, which are among the highest in the world, had begun to rise at the end of 2004. They got a further boost when the National Textile Corporation auctioned its first set of five mills, Sanyal said.

Prices soared even over the period in which the company had sold these mills. It had sold Mumbai Textile Mill in mid-2005 for Rs 7,000 per sq ft. A month later, it got Rs 15,000 per sq ft for Kohinoor Mill.


NTC MILLS SOLD
Jupiter Mill, Lower Parel: 14 acres
Sold to: Indiabulls
Plans: Three towers office space

Mumbai Textile Mill, Lower Parel: 17.5 acres
Sold to: Jwala Realty
Plans: Biggest shopping mall

Apollo Mill, Chinchpokli
Sold to: Lodha Group
Plans: Lodha Bellissimo, an upmarket residential project

Kohinoor Mill No 3, Dadar: 4.9 acres
Sold to: Raj Thackeray-Unmesh Joshi partnered Kohinoor CTNL
Plans: Shopping mall coming up

Elphinstone Mill, Senapati Bapat Marg: 7.8 acres
Sold to: Indiabulls
Plans: Plans not yet known

NTC also plans to develop on its own:
India United Mill No 6
Where: Prabhadevi
Plans: India International Trade Tower, a 72-storeyed tower in the 11.96 acre mill.

Remaining NTC mills some of which will be sold and some will be functional:
Kohinoor Mill No 1 and India United Mill No 5, No 2, Dadar Kalachowkie Digvijay Mill, Lalbaug Tata Mills, Parel Gold Mohur Mill, Dadar New City, Kalachowkie India United Mill No 1, Poddar Mill, NM Joshi Lalbaug Marg

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1804/10022007006034023259650rz6.jpg
(Above) Madhusudan Mill in Worli

NTC MILLS TO BE SOLD
New Hind Mill – Mhada
Size: 8.33 acres
Where: Byculla

India United Mill No 4 – Mhada
Size: 7.79 acres
Where: Kalachowkie

Jam Mill – Mhada
Size: 7.99 acres
Where: Lalbaug

Sitaram Mills: MCGM
Size: 8.43 acres
Where: NM Joshi Marg

India United Mill No 2: MCGM
Size: 10.64 acres
Where: Kalachowkie

India United Mill No 3: MCGM
Size: 5.40 acres
Where: Kalachowkie
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/9261/100220070060341d2117ss1.th.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?image=100220070060341d2117ss1.jpg)

Orchard Residency
LBS Marg, Ghatkopar (W)
Joint venture Runwal Group (Mumbai) and Capitaland (Singapore)
10 blocks of 15 storeys each

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/317/runwalcapitallandtoiorczu4.jpg

What's this u/c?

Photo copyright hugohugo

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/9402/hugohugomumbaihotelrj1.jpg

More confirmation that the ultimate size of the IITT is to be 72 stories, this time from the horse's mouth.

Mumbai mill auction may push up real estate prices (http://www.rxpgnews.com/business/Mumbai-mill-auction-may-push-up-real-estate-prices_15357.shtml)
eb 13, 2007 - 8:47:12 AM

By Probir Pramanik, IANS, [RxPG] Mumbai, Feb 13 - The state-run National Textile Corporation - has decided to put four more mills in central Mumbai up for auction, a move that could push real estate prices through the roof.

The NTC's proposed auction of four mills in Worli and Parel could raise real estate prices in central Mumbai because developers are expected to bid 'higher than-market' rate for the around 40 acres of prime land, freeing it for private developers in this 'land-starved' metropolis.

The state-run textile company has already raised around Rs.20 billion from its first phase of sales from the auction of five mills after the Supreme Court lifted the legal obstacle on the sale of Mumbai mill land in March 2005.

It now plans to bring under the hammer the 18-acre Madhusudan Mills, in Worli - the largest in Mumbai. The other mills are Poddar Processors and Bharat Textile Mill, also in Worli, and Finlay Mill in Parel.

The textile company is awaiting the government's nod to invite bids from private developers.

'Once we get the final nod from the state government, we will invite tenders,' NTC managing director O.P. Agarwal told IANS.

Although Agarwal was not forthcoming on the amount the corporation is expecting, property consultants are more than willing to speculate.

'Prices will be as high as, if not higher than, existing rates, with builders from outside Mumbai coming in for bids this time,' said Gopal Sanyal, a property consultant.

'The three mills in Worli could fetch more than the going rate of Rs.20,000 per sq ft and the ones in Parel more than Rs.12,000 per sq ft.'

Agarwal, however, admitted that prices have soared since the company last sold its mills.

'Prices soared even over the period we sold our mills in the first phase. While we got Rs.7,000 per sq ft for the sale of the 14-acre Mumbai Mills in Lower Parel -, a months later we got Rs.15,000 per sq ft for the sale of the 4.9-acre-Kohinoor Mills in Dadar, both in central Mumbai,' the NTC top official said.

The state-run textile company also plans to cash in on the booming real estate and plans to develop the land on its own.

'Plans are on to develop real estate on our own. We plan to construct a 72-storeyed India International Trade Tower in the 11.96-acre India United Mill No. 6 at Pravhadevi,' Agarwal disclosed.

Kohinoor Mills was sold to Navi Nirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray-Umesh Joshi partnered Kohinoor Constructions, which is building a shopping mall at the site.

Real estate prices in Mumbai, which are among the highest in the world, began to rise in 2004 and got a further boost when NTC auctioned its first set of five mills in 2005.

But environmental watchers are not amused with the boom.

'The area is twice that of the Oval Maidan at Churchgate and thrice that of Cooperage, both among the only few green spaces remaining in the island city,' said Sonia Fernandez of Bombay First, a watchdog body.

'The state government's policy on the mill land is lopsided. The city's infrastructure can no longer bear the burden of private development. There needs to be some regulation in this madness,' said Sonia.

'The mills of Mumbai have played a major role in the industrialisation of Maharashtra. But the sale of these mill lands remains a contentious issue because some of the 600 acre of mill land was initially meant for public amenities and low-cost housing.'

Rs 451 cr bonanza for Bandra soc

Nauzer Bharucha | TNN

Mumbai: It’s just a three-minute trot once you step out of Bandra railway station on the west and walk towards the talao. On the left is Nutan Nagar co-operative housing society, a cluster of low-rise residential buildings constructed some time between 1946-’47.
Most visitors will not even notice it. However, middle-income residents and shopowners from this society are on the cusp of a mega real estate deal that is expected to be sewn up with a prominent Mumbaibased builder in the next few days—that is, if all goes as planned.
Almost six months after they set out to search for a builder who would offer them the best deal to move out of their small- to mid-sized flats and ground floor shops, the Nutan Nagarites have hit pay dirt—the builder has offered them a whopping Rs 451 crore.
In a price unheard of so far in the city, each shopowner in the society is expected to be paid at the rate of Rs 95,000 per square foot while those owning flats will get Rs 38,000 a sq ft to move out permanently. “Such unrealistic rates will further screw up the already overheated property market,’’ warned a real estate expert. Already lease rentals for shops on Bandra’s Linking Road have touched Rs 1,500 a sq ft a month.
“We stuck to our price of Rs 451 crore. It was a case of take it or leave it. Someone (name not revealed) accepted it and we are happy,’’ a resident said. Nutan Nagar society comprises seven buildings with 275 flats and 37 shops. The flats range from a single-room tenement measuring 120 sq ft to two-bedroom flats measuring 600 sq ft and the rest over 1,000 to 1,550 sq ft in size.
A person owning a 600 sq ft flat thus stands to get Rs 2.28 crore while those occupying a 1,550 sq ft flat will receive Rs 5.89 crore. Shopowners who occupy space between 160 sq ft and 185 sq ft will get between Rs 1.52 crore to Rs 1.75 crore at the rate of Rs 95,000 a square foot.
The developer, whose identity is not known, has plans to set up a retail mall because of the plot’s location which touches the main S V Road.
“We are not selling the land nor does the Nutan Nagar society have anything to do with this transaction. A majority of the members came together and formed the building proposal committee. Each flat owner and shopkeeper is individually selling his property to the builder and will receive separate cheques for vacating,’’ a Nutan Nagar resident told TOI on Tuesday.

Mega complex at Seawoods rly stn

In what is being billed as India’s largest commercial complex around a railway station, Cidco plans to develop nearly 25 lakh sq feet of land around the Seawoods Darave station on the Harbour line and, in the process, get Rs 750 crore from the winning bidder. P 5

85% residents have agreed to pack up


Mumbai: Residents of the Nutan Nagar cooperative housing society in Bandra west are poised to reap rich dividends on their property with an unidentified builder offering them Rs 451 crore to vacate their shops and flats.
The entire amount of Rs 451 crore is to be put in an escrow account by the builder in the next few days. Of the 312 members of the Nutan Nagar society, as many as 85% of them have given their consent to move out. Once the agreement is signed, residents will have to shift out by end of May.
“Most of us will be looking out for flats in the western suburbs, between Andheri and Borivali. A few want to find a place in Bandra itself,’’ said a resident, not wishing to be identified.
Since August last, the residents must have interacted with as many as 40 developers, of which about a dozen turned out to be serious contenders. Among them was the Delhi-based DLF, Navi Mumbai-based APA Developers (which had earlier bid Rs 180 crore for the Bharatiya Bhavan society in Khar) and Siroya FM Constructions.
Although the deal is 99% through, residents are apprehensive about the appeal filed in the supreme court against the use of transfer of development rights (TDR). Nutan Nagar falls in the corridor along the railway tracks. Although, the Bombay high court had rejected a petition, which sought a ban on TDR, the apex court on Monday admitted an appeal by the petitioners. TDR gives additional construction rights to a builder in lieu of surrendering land elsewhere for public amenities or as compensation for rehabilitating a slum enclave.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

this sort of thing is happening all over bombay, the government is not going to clear slums and old buildings. private enterprise will have to do it

Yeah what is that building rising next to the Rennaissance Hotel in Powai?

Looks interesting.

Can anyone confirm?

Yeah what is that building rising next to the Rennaissance Hotel in Powai?

Looks interesting.

Can anyone confirm?

It's probably the Renaissance Hotel Phase II (300 Rooms).

WOW! Thanks Sun.

Might as well cash in on the hotel boom!

Kalpataru Towers, Kandivali (E)
http://www.kalpataru.com/projects/kalpataru_towers.html

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9619/kalpatarutowersperspectro8.jpg

Sun

nice one. looks like 31 floors. Bombay should make this a norm.

Firstly,

http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&id=100541

Mumbai's skyscrapers add to civic woes
Anjali Doshi
Wednesday, February 7, 2007 (Mumbai):

Promoted by Vikas Kasliwal of Shree Ram Mills, Palais Royale is all set to be one of Mumbai's tallest and most luxurious skyscrapers.

The 700-feet high building, to be ready in 2009, boasts of indoor heated swimming pools, ample parking space and world-class fire safety norms.
Here is the link to the video report (http://www.ndtv.com/ndtvvideo/default.asp?id=11351) of this story. It has a quick peek at both the construction site (construction seems to be underway) as well as a quck pan on the elevation.

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/5222/10702907yp7.jpg

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8545/94712125wc9.jpg

It took some time to splice the screencaps together. I think it is in correct proportion.
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6827/93199294df2.jpg

Vikas Kasliwal of Shree Ram Mills also said this in the video report:
"It doesn't have too many stories, but since each storey has a very good height we've gone to very good heights. It will probably end up being a fairly tall building. We're not aiming to be the tallest building, but I think we may just end up being one of the tallest."

The newsreader also said:
But the title city's tallest is hotly contested. In the next two years three projects will vie for that honor.

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/1782/95029595os3.jpg
However, they forgot to mention Oberoi Skyz in the contest, which isn't surprising, seeing as Oberoi Construction seems to be trying to draw as little attention to it as possible.

I can't find the builder, architect or promoter's website. Seeing as this is going to be an 'invitation only' project, just like also u/c Oberoi Skyz, and Reliance Tower, we're probably not going to see any good quality renderings outside brief newsclips until its nearly finished. :(


---------==--=--==---------

Also, remember that Raheja Excelsior project at Haji Ali?
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3081/rahejaexcelsiorlargeqc9.jpg

Looks like it, too, went a great redesign. This one hasn't hit the internet yet, but is taken from a recent photograph of a hoarding in South Mumbai.

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/4702/image6kf7.jpg

Counting the floors, I'm going to confirm my estimation of the previous render saying at 45 stories tall. We'll have to wait for a larger rendering to come out to be more certain.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/2958/2332627040061416106sgmxfz2.th.jpg (http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2332627040061416106sgmxfz2.jpg)

Cheers,
Jai

Regarding Sumer Burhani Park,
http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/9461/sh629151679f234ag5.jpg

Here's a view that I don't think was posted before:
http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/903/213fullsize1679fed6xa1.jpg

Seeing as the 2nd pic is older, it seems that 4-spired, er, thingy became the one-spired convention center seen in the top rendering

All these projects are great! I like the re-design to Haj Ali although I do like the first design too. Looks something out of Japan.

http://www.southindiahomes.com/images/properties/SH700152/SH700152.jpg

New clause on mill land FSI raises eyebrows
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

From TOI Epaper, 19 Feb 07

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/5346/pc0051600cx4.jpg

Mumbai: A new clause is to be added to the city’s development rules allowing the state housing board 200% more floor space index (FSI) in the mill land area. But the proposal is being met with skepticism and is being seen as yet another move to help builders.

To be termed 33(18), the clause will allow the additional FSI to the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada) “to create more housing for mill workers and transit camps for residents of old and dilapidated buildings’’. The state government has directed the BMC to invite objections and suggestions within the next 60 days before implementing the scheme.

Pravin Ghag, secretary, Girni Kamgaar Sangharsh Samiti, criticised the proposal saying it would not really help the mill workers. He said the state had issued a government resolution (GR) which said that all mill workers who were employed in 2000 would be eligible for housing. “There were 80,000 mill workers at that time and if this scheme is implemented then only 15,000 houses will be created. It will lead to fights within the mill workers’ community,’’ Ghag said, adding that the government should not include transit camps in the scheme.

BJP corporator Ashish Shelar said the new clause would create more FSI further burdening the creaking infrastructure.

“The draft housing policy speaks of cluster redevelopment since individual redevelopment is not good for urban renewal. If this is the case, then where is the need for building transit camps for residents of old and dilapidated buildings? If an entire block is taken up for redevelopment, residents can be adjusted in transit camps in the same area,’’ he said. This is at present being done in case of the Bombay City Improvement Trust chawls at Agripada.

While the state government claims the increased FSI is being given following requests by various associations of mill workers, the number of mill workers in the city remains unknown. “The government does not seem to have done a study to find the actual numbers,’’ said Shelar.

He pointed out that the state government had stayed its resolution to allow an additional 0.5 FSI for tenants living on the mill land and who must be rehabilitated before the builder can commercially exploit the land. There are 6,000 tenants but so far the government has not moved to help them.

http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=275198&subLeft=1&leftnm=1


RIL offers hefty price for farmland

Reliance Industries, India’s biggest company by market value, is offering Rs 37.5 lakh a hectare, over 10 times the ready-reckoner price, to acquire 10,000 hectare of land from farmers for its special economic zone on the outskirts of Mumbai.

By a rough estimate, the company will have to pay Rs 3,750 crore for land acquisition:nuts: :nuts: :nuts: .

The company is offering Rs 25 lakh a hectare for land under paddy cultivation. On top of this, the firm is offering Rs 12.5 lakh per hectare if a farmer does not opt for the land offered by the company at an adjacent site. Reliance has earmarked 12.5 per cent (1,250 hectare) of the total land to be acquired for farmers.

The company will also offer free vocational and technical education to a member of each of the 17,000 families whose land is acquired.

During the training period, the minimum agricultural wage of Rs 60 a day will be paid as stipend. If a landowner does not want the training, he is entitled to Rs 3 lakh as one-time compensation.

The ready-reckoner rate is the one taken to compute stamp duty in real estate transactions. Builders complain that it is often higher than the rate at which transactions are struck.

“We have submitted our compensation package to the state government. But if it asks us to give even higher compensation to farmers, we will be bound by that,” said Dilip Chaware, the spokesperson for the company.

Unveiling its plans today, Reliance Industries said it would invest Rs 31,000 crore over 10-15 years in its SEZ project, which would come up as two adjacent zones on more than 14,000 hectares. The company would spend Rs 16,000 crore in the development of infrastructure.

“Although we call it a special economic zone, it is going to be a city,” Chaware told reporters. The entire project combines two adjacent zones in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. “The project will be floated by companies that are a part of the Reliance Group.”

The group, which is setting up another SEZ at Navi Mumbai, has already been sanctioned 1,600 hectare of the 4,000 hectare needed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________




i love this: successive gov'ts have failed to address Mumbai's problems and modernise it. now, hell with gov'ts. private firms have the muscle to give Mumbai a complete make-over.

i like how Reliance is doing everything it can to prevent another Singur by Patkar. they are spending around $800 million just for rehabing the farmers.

also, what are their plans for the 4000 hectare Navy Mumbai SEZ??? i kinda missed it.

So where is Sumer Trinity being built then and any up-dates?

I remember seeing this rending for a while now.

Work on India’s tallest towers faces roadblock

From Toi Epaper

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/632/mumbaisdtowersce0.jpg

India’s tallest buildings, currently under construction with apartments already going for Rs 45 crore each, are being built on land clearly shown in the Development Plan (DP) as intended for a public road, a legal notice sent to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has alleged.

While the plush Tardeo twin towers will have access to a public road, buildings coming up on the site to rehabilitate slumdwellers will have none, the notice says.

The rehabilitation scheme at Tardeo’s MP mill compound is being carried out by S D Corporation, a joint venture between construction firm Shapoorji Pallonji and builder Dilip Thakker. The layout where the construction is taking place is on land which was primarily reserved for the prime minister’s Grant Project for slumdwellers and for police housing. The developer has to rehabilitate 2,500 slum families in new buildings on the site and also reserve a portion for police housing.

Activist Simpreet Singh of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) used the Right To Information Act to get a copy of the DP, which shows a public road has been proposed to pass through the layout. Answering another RTI application filed by him, the BMC’s chief engineer (development plan) confirmed that there had been no modification in reservation made for the road. “As such, the construction coming up on the said land is completely illegal as it overwhelms and infringes on the whole length of public road,’’ the legal notice filed by former IPS officer-turnedlawyer Y P Singh on NAPM’s behalf, said.

Rohit Sinha, manager, Shapoorji Pallonji, did not respond to TOI’s questions.
The notice alleges that the police commissioner’s no-objection certificate (NOC) was not taken and that the plot for the slumdwellers’ rehabilitation had been overloaded with FSI, leaving little open space. The sale buildings are almost ready wheareas construction work is yet to begin on many of the rehabilitation buildings, in violation of SRA rules, the notice alleged.

The project earlier ran into controversy in 2002 when residents of Carmichael Road and Tardeo took the developer to court, saying that Tardeo Hill was illegally excavated, endangering residents’ lives. The developers contended that they had adequately safeguarded the hill.

SRA CEO Debashish Chakrabarty did not answer his phone through Tuesday evening. “We have asked the SRA to issue a stop-work notice immediately so that we are not required to go to court,’’ Singh said.

Medha Patkar comes into the picture

Trouble ahead for ‘tallest’ towers
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1081180

There is trouble brewing for SD Corporation, the developer of the two 60-storey residential towers at Tardeo — touted to be the tallest in the country. The company is a joint venture between construction firm Shapoorji Pallonji and builder Dilip Thacker.

Social activist Medha Patkar has alleged that the developers have clandestinely removed a public road stipulated in the Development Plan (DP) meant primarily for the use of slum dwellers. The developer instead has constructed the two towers over the road reservation, which the civic authorities have not removed from the DP. The 12.2 metre-wide road is reserved on the land earmarked as Police Housing and Prime Minister’s Grant Project (PMGP) for slum dwellers.

The towers are part of the free sale component the developer is allowed to construct in lieu of rehabilitating 2,500 slum families free of cost under a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme. The project began three years ago.

Alleging that the developer has circumvented the law and got permission to make this huge building by suppressing this fact, Patkar has asked the SRA to restore the public road by demolishing portions of the buildings which comes on its way.

Despite repeated attempts, Shapoorji Pallonji and Dilip Thacker were unavailable for comment. So was the SRA Chief Executive Officer Debashish Chakraborty, who was unable to comment as he was away on tour.

According to Patkar’s advocate Y P Singh, a 1992 Urban Development notification clearly stipulates that the roads demarcated in the DP cannot be removed at all when a slum scheme is drawn up.

“Though a major part of this road passes through the land reserved for police housing, the developer has not taken the No Objection Certificate from the Police Commissioner,” said Singh. “What is more glaring is that the SRA while sanctioning the scheme, has not informed the civic authority – which controls public roads – of the reservation being voraciously consumed by these mammoth buildings,” he added.

Pointing out the lopsided manner of development, Singh said while flats in the towers are said to cost between Rs35 crore and Rs45 crore, the developer not only has blocked the slum dwellers access, he seems to have failed to further provide amenities reserved under PMGP for slum dwellers on the said land.

Courting controversy

The two 60-storey towers have been courting controversy since their inception about four years ago. In 2002, residents of Carmichael Road, Altamount Road and Tardeo had dragged SD Corporation to court, stating that the developer was illegally excavating the Tardeo Hill and thereby, endangering the lives of residents in the neighbourhood. They also claimed that the towers will block the light and ventilation of buildings located on the hills. The developer had refuted the charge saying adequate precautionary measures have been taken to ensure the stability of the hill.

http://www.proxsa.org/politics/napm.html
National Alliance of People's Movements




looking at the site, it seems like they are one of the following:

1. a hardcore Left wing Commie/Socialist organisation.
2. a hardcore RSS sponsored Swadeshi Jagaran Manch type organisation.

*smacks head*

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5242/210220070070150061jh0.jpg
Image from DNA India

pding,

Since they are supported by proxsa -- a radical left-wing media umbrella group -- chances are its #1

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=223174

City gets an Expressway twin. Well, almost

Express News Service

Mumbai, February 19: Is it the Mumbai-Pune Expressway?

In a city plagued by potholes round the year and a painfully slow makeover, a road can receive no better accolades than a comparison to India’s first six-lane concrete high-speed highway connecting the financial capital to its next-door IT hub. And that’s the comparison most Mumbaiites are making when they see this smooth eight-lane road, as zippy as the Expressway and minus the toll fee.

With the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) having completed large sections of the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, JVLR to acronym aficionados, driving east-west in the suburbs is finally set to improve. “Turn off from Eastern Express Highway and it’s a superb drive, reflectors on the road, traffic zooming in four lanes in either direction, lush plantation on both sides,” says Mehul Shah, a trader who drives every day from Mulund to the western suburbs. “And then the traffic jam returns.”

That’s thanks to a 4.6-km stretch still awaiting completion—occupying the middle of the JVLR from the L&T headquarters to Gandhinagar junction—and the bottleneck at Powai’s Adi Shankaracharya Marg is still a deterrent to motorists.

A critical east-west linking road, the 10.8-km JVLR is part of the multi-crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). While work on the other road component of MUTP, the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road is still crawling thanks to the contentious issue of rehabilitating 150 commercial unit owners, JVLR’s overhaul is a promising sign for motorists.

Two sections of the JVLR are ready, explain MMRDA officials—from the Eastern Express Highway to Gandhinagar and from Western Express Highway to L&T. The middle section involves widening of the Adi Shankaracharya Road following land acquisition from the Indian Institute of Technology, Powai. “IIT has in principal agreed to give the land,” says MUTP Joint Project Director Dilip Kawathkar. “That process is continuing and the shop-owners opposite who are eligible for rehabilitation are also being allotted alternative shops.”

That's great news. Hopefully they'll build a trumpet interchange at the EEwy turnoff, and make this thing totally signal-free if it isn't already.

BTW what's the exit spacing, if it's already grade-seperated?

Verdict on Gateway plan today
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7181/2102200700601501715233ajp4.jpgTOI Epaper 21 Feb 2007

Toilets proposed in the earlier plaza have been dropped in this recent plan

Naresh Kamath
Mumbai

THE GRAND makeover planned for the Gateway of India may finally come through. On Wednesday, the beautification plan for the heritage structure will be placed before the standing committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) — after a two-year wait.

If it is passed, it means in the near future a visit to Gateway will not entail being greeted by pesky hawkers, parking chaos. Haphazardly planned and illmaintained gardens will give way to better organised green areas with facilities.

Visitors will be able to enjoy a view of the Gateway of India from a viewers plaza and also enjoy the sea breeze from the 400metre promenade to be built in the vicinity of the structure.

The Rs 4.59-crore plan to give a face-lift to the surroundings was prepared by noted architect P.K. Das for the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

Mayor Datta Dalvi said the beautification will be undertaken keeping in mind the historic importance of the place. “This is a significant structure in the city and visited by lakhs of tourists,” said Dalvi. “Changes will be made keeping in mind existing aesthetic aspects of the place.” Besides signage and lighting, the plan includes shifting stalls like ticket booths, milk centres and a police chowky to one side.


ON THE CARDS
1. A gallery of steps will be constructed at foot of the Shivaji statue. There will be an elevated garden around the statue. The gallery will be used to hold shows; visitors can sit there and look at the bay.

2. A section for amenities (milk centre, police chowki, ticket kiosks will be built below elevated garden near Wittet fountain.

3. Parking lot behind statue connected to the amenities section. Parking spaces on both sides of the garden will be removed.
http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/6199/21022007006015qr7.th.jpg (http://img388.imageshack.us/my.php?image=21022007006015qr7.jpg)

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=222892

Mithi clean-up: Phase 2 awaits work orders

Authorities blame delay on contractors; meanwhile, abuse of the river begins afresh

Kavitha Iyer

Mumbai, February 17: WITH no court-appointed deadline nudging them, and with less than four months to go for the monsoon, the Mithi River Development and Protection Authority is yet to issue work orders for the much-awaited Phase 2 of the Mithi clean-up.

While the delay was first blamed on the code of conduct for the municipal elections that took place on February 2, the reason being proffered now is that contractors had sought more time. “It’s a job that requires a great deal of technical expertise,” said Dr Vikas Tondwalkar, admitting that a one-month delay has occurred. “Two lakh cubic metres of rock have to be blasted, a diaphragm wall is to be constructed. That’s why the bidders needed time to study the job carefully.” Tondwalkar added that the worst bottlenecks had been removed in the first phase and further widening and deepening would be carried out before this year’s monsoon. “Work will begin by March,” he said.

However, while the financial bids for tenders worth Rs 237 crore are to be opened soon, the executive committee of the MMRDA must give its assent before work orders are issued. “The truth is this,” said BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, “no work will be done on the Mithi river plan before this monsoon.”

On Saturday, Somaiya—his public interest litigation following the deluge of July 26, 2005 cleared the decks for the river’s conservation plan—-trudged along a 5-km stretch of the river, pointing out clear signs that the abuse of the river has begun afresh. Close to the Bandra Kurla Complex bridge, adjacent to an under-construction multi-storey, a sizeable riverside plot appears to have been created through land filling. Showing photographs of the same location captured after the widening during Phase 1, Somaiya said: “This is a 10,000-sq ft, Rs 25-crore land grab that builders are executing with connivance of officials.” When he complained about the debris dumping to officials of the Mithi River Development and Protection Authority, a stop-work notice was issued to the builder, he said.

At the Kurla-Kalina bridge, effluents gush into the river from large sewer openings and mechanics work on trucks in an open-air garage while grease and garbage make their way into the rive—-all activities that the State government’s affidavit in court says have been dealt with. A little northward, opposite Sheetal Cinema, a large plot cleared of encroachments is now a makeshift parking lot for a row of trucks.

Meanwhile, officials say 15,000 to 20,000 structures are to be demolished under Phase 2, which also includes constructing landscaped green zones, buffer zones, approach roads, etc, all to be completed in a span of three years. “Let’s assume that only a minimal 4,000 structures are demolished this year,” said a senior official in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). “Where will they be rehabilitated? No tenements have been identified for these project-affected people (PAPs).”

Without a time-bound action plan, Phase 2 of the Mithi is clearly a slow starter. For Mumbaiites, the season to be monsoon-wary begins.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=223574

Santacruz-Chembur link road: Delayed, it awaits the big push

All eyes on today’s meeting, which will finally decide on rehabilitation of 350 commercial units
Kavitha Iyer

Mumbai, February 21: When the plans were drawn, they were flaunted as including Asia’s first double-decker flyover for Asia’s most congested city, part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), a showcase scheme for transportation overhaul in the face of complex urban challenges. Two years behind schedule now, and only about 30 per cent complete, a meeting scheduled for Thursday might finally see work picking up on the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR).

The Independent Monitoring Panel, a body of eminent citizens overseeing state-wide World Bank projects, will have its last meeting to decide, finally, on the rehabilitation of about 350 commercial units. The panel will also visit Kismat Nagar, where the contentious resettlement of the project affected persons (PAPs) not only stalled work but also led to a three-month suspension of funding from the World Bank, which cited inadequate grievance redressal procedures for the affected units.

“We have convinced the Bank that we need a policy to deal with failure of negotiations,” said Milind Mhaiskar, joint metropolitan commissioner and project director, MUTP. “We broached the issue last November, then did a business categorisation for each of these 350 PAPs and following that we have given the Independent Monitoring Panel two options that, according for us, are the best for each.” The original schedule called for units affected by SCLR’s first phase to be relocated by May 2004.

Sources said the PAPs, who run garages, timber shops, blacksmith units, printing units, eateries and other businesses, will now have to accept one of the resettlement options or face eviction.

Mhaiskar agreed that for those unit-owners still refusing to accept any of the options—these 350 PAPs had been earlier given five options, but had insisted on in situ relocation—the Bank has agreed that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Agency (MMRDA) can then “suo motu give them allotment letters”. Even if this is for the “minority of the minority cases”, according to Mhaiskar, such a go-ahead from the Bank was acutely needed.

“For, all options have been given to them, to pick any of the resettlement sites that MMRDA has, including Motilal Nagar, which is at Bandra Kurla Complex itself. There has been no lack of transparency on the part of the MMRDA,” Mhaiskar said. About 50 to 60 affected persons have already come forward in response to notices sent by the MMRDA, some accepting one of the options, some have sought partial retention of their properties, etc.

Officials at the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the implementing agency for SCLR, say work on other sections of SCLR is progressing—at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Kurla railway station, Nehru Nagar, Gazi Nagar, etc. But with civil works contracts having been signed as far back as September 2003 and April 2004, Mumbai’s motorists will hope there will be no more delays on the critical east-west road link.

RIVAL FOR BKC? - Wadala will soon be a business hub
DNA India Epaper 21 Feb 07

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/5089/220220070030080099c23cdnh5.jpgGigil

Varghese
Mumbai

STATE URBAN planners expect to soon finish drafting a plan to develop a huge swathe of Wadala as a business district to rival the Bandra-Kurla Complex, after dusting off a nearly three-decade-old proposal. The plan also envisions making the area the city’s transport hub.

The plan will be completed in about a month, said T. Chandrashekhar, joint commissioner of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authori ty, which is working on the plan along with a consultant.

“We are pushing to get the project off the ground,” he said. The project was mooted in 1979, but didn’t take off, unlike the other projects that planning body has pulled off, including the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The planning body has finished acquiring nearly all the 200 acres identified for the project, and will soon shift transit tenements in the area to another location, said an official.

The district is to include commercial centers, hotels, multiplexes, parking lots and parks. These buildings will be subject to architectural norms relating to height and facades, which the planning body will stipulate as it did for the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The plan also envisions making the area the terminus for bus and truck operators, although an official said they may initially protest against moving from their current hub near the Mumbai port in south Mumbai because they pay very low rents there.

Road links to the district will also be improved, officials said.

It's not near the airport like the BKC, so it's more likely to have commercial skyscrapers. Prabhadevi might also become a significant skyscraper zone, though the status of IITT (India International Trade Tower) is currently a mystery.

I don't think its as much a mystery so much as it hasn't broken ground yet. NTC recently made it clear that they plan the 72 storey skyscraper.

Nailing a point..

Don’t club Mumbai with other cities, says expert

TOE epaper

Mumbai: City planner Chandrashekhar Prabhu warned against the tendency to club Mumbai with other cities of the world like Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. “This will not serve any purpose other than provide politicians and bureaucrats with free trips,’’ he said.

After going on trips to Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, the authorities now want to visit new places. So Johannesburg and Australia have become places to emulate, he said. Prabhu was speaking at a seminar organised by the Bombay Management Association on “Making Mumbai a world class city: Promises and Obstacles.’’ He lashed out at the tendency to use the term ‘world-class’ when talking of Mumbai, “If each department of the municipal corporation and the government did its duty well, things in the city will become world-class. It is because issues like water supply and roads are neglected that we have poor conditions in the city,’’ he said.

The seminar also included presentations by secretary special projects Sanjay Ubale and conservation architect Pankaj Joshi.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/3497/mumbaiwaterve2.jpg

via HT Mumbai Feb23

This is great news for Mumbai. Hope this project goes ahead and not get stuck like other projects do.

The Imperial Towers is just turning into a farce!

Why cant these things be sorted before hand? Its a scandal and the developer is clearly to blame.

What a shame......

Nailing a point..

Don’t club Mumbai with other cities, says expert

TOE epaper

good point.....!!!

Some updates

---------==--=--==---------

Larger rendering of upcoming Neelkanth Greens, Thane: several buildings of 30 stories each
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2214/77435079lj8.jpg

---------==--=--==---------

Another rendering of Kalpataru Towers, Kandivali (East)
http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/3070/49244012ef6.jpg

Does indeed look to be 32 stories

---------==--=--==---------

Nirmal Group's Amethyst, Mulund
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9478/40628515is1.jpg

Looks to be 32-34 stories

---------==--=--==---------

Here's an interesting building seemingly planned by Lokhandwala Constructions, which can be seen on the wall in the photo accompanying the article "Greedy slumdwellers are maligning me" in HT e-paper on 25 Feb.
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6711/61050719pz7.jpg

A closeup of the building. Looks to be about 32-34 stories
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1048/79818872jo3.jpg


There are a couple other buildings that look like they may be taller in the pictures above that one, but they are hard to make out...

Source:
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/5084/25022007002006147d078fk2.th.jpg (http://img154.imageshack.us/my.php?image=25022007002006147d078fk2.jpg)

Great find, Jai!

I am a new poster, but I have been following the site for two years or so, and after a year on the India forum, I decided to join. Thanks for the beautiful pictures, all India posters!

tNe

welcome Nigel Effect

:lurker:

jk

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=223174
City gets an Expressway twin. Well, almost
That’s thanks to a 4.6-km stretch still awaiting completion—occupying the middle of the JVLR from the L&T headquarters to Gandhinagar junction—and the bottleneck at Powai’s Adi Shankaracharya Marg is still a deterrent to motorists.

Two sections of the JVLR are ready, explain MMRDA officials—from the Eastern Express Highway to Gandhinagar and from Western Express Highway to L&T. The middle section involves widening of the Adi Shankaracharya Road following land acquisition from the Indian Institute of Technology, Powai. “IIT has in principal agreed to give the land,” says MUTP Joint Project Director Dilip Kawathkar. “That process is continuing and the shop-owners opposite who are eligible for rehabilitation are also being allotted alternative shops.”

Those 2 sections were over by Dec 2004. Thats when the flyover at Gandhinagar junction and LT were done. Half ff the 4.6 km in front of Hiranandani was done back in 2001. The only issue was the land around IIT. The shop owners agreed to move into some plaza in Hiranandani in late 2005 and Unity Infra said it would complete the works by April 2006.

Fine prints are really important. Basically Mumbai does not get much. 5000 cr in 5 years is peanut compare to what Mumbai contributes to the country. In short Lalu wants to make Mumbai as another Bihar! :bash:

http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu2&subLeft=1&autono=275962&tab=r

Mumbai gets Rs 5000 cr in rail budget

BS Reporter / Mumbai February 27, 2007


The Railway Budget for 2007-08 will provide the much-needed relief to the average working class Mumbaikar who spends anything from 45 minutes to two hours commuting to work and back as Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announced to undertake Rs 5,000 crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project II (MUTP II) which is aimed at upgrading suburban railway network.

It was reliably learnt, railway ministry accepted to undertake MUTP II on a priority basis following Maharashtra’s promise to provide financial assistance to the tune of Rs 600 to the project.

Of the 5,000 crore, Railways will bear 88 per cent of the project cost, and it will raise 60 per cent of the funds through loans and 28 per cent through internal accruals. The state government will bear the rest of the burden.

A senior state government official said, gestation period for the Metro railway is too long and till then, we need to give a push to MUTP II to reduce the hardship of the suburban commuter to some extent.

Under the MUTP phase II it has been proposed to build two dedicated corridors for outstation trains and suburban trains on the central and western lines.

This would lead to a greater frequency (a train every three minutes on all three suburban lines). Besides, it will also improve efficiencies of rail operations in Mumbai which will help the Railways save on energy bills between 20 per cent and 30 per cent. Most importantly, a substantial reduction in traffic.

The load-carrying capacity of rail rakes is around 1,700 commuters but during peak hours it is exceeded nearly three times and nearly 5,000 passengers travel during peak hours.

After completion of the MUTP I it is expected that it will come down to around 3,600 and at the end of phase II it will fall to 2,500 passengers, said Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation official.

Reacting to the budget, president of Mumbai Suburban Railway Commuters Association Deepak Gandhi said, "Yadav’s announcement to provide Rs 5,000 crore to improve conditions on Mumbai’s suburban network is inadequate. The problems are of such gigantic proportions that it needs Rs 5,000 crore a year.

Besides, there is no announcement to give commuters an immediate relief like finding ways and means to increase the frequency of local trains, he added.

Former minister of state for Railways and senior BJP leader Rambhau Naik said, "Yadav’s announcement is nothing but an eyewash and devil lies in the fine print. In his speech, he says, MUTP I will be completed during the 11th Five Year Plan when actually the deadline for the project is July 2007. So we don’t know for how long Phase I has been delayed.”

Secondly Yadav has just announced to undertake MUTP II during 11th five year plan but no significant provision has been made during this year’s budget, he added.

this is interesting. i have also seen on some other forums about Mumbai not getting what it contributes to India. why can't the state govt be more dynamic? look at what Buddha is doing in Bengal. what Modi has been doing in Gujarat, what YSR is doing in AP, and what TN leaders are doing to the state.....

Lodha Builders has updated their website. Some new projects. Unfortunately, they are small, but are of good quality:

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Lodha Solitaire, Napean Sea Road: 16 stories
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7073/solitairepers155c74ake9.jpg

-------==--=--==-------

Chateau Paradis, Worli
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/2659/paradispers158ff14eb5.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/2555/paradisfeatures5b9ddbhe4.jpg

-------==--=--==-------

Lodha Palazzo
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9492/pallazopers159ec91oe0.jpg

-------==--=--==-------

Lodha Paradise
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6398/paradisephase2pers25e5dpd5.jpg

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8851/paradiseclubhouse5e7d06ms1.jpg

-------==--=--==-------

Re: Lodha Belissimo they've uploaded this neat little map
http://www.lodhagroup.com/images/projects/bellissimo/location.jpg

-------==--=--==-------

Before, the following was the only rendering we had of Lodha Grandeur
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2097/build29uo.jpg

Now they've uploaded
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/38/grandeurpers15d46b9mm3.jpg

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6512/grandeurpers25d7431mc5.jpg

-------==--=--==-------

-Jai

Lodha Builders has updated their website. Some new projects. Unfortunately, they are small, but are of good quality:

-------==--=--==-------

Lodha Solitaire
Chateau Paradise
Lodha Palazzo
Lodha Paradise
Lodha Belissimo
Lodha Grandeur


Nice Name-->Lodha..LOL! :rock: :lol: :lol:

hmmm...I wonder what inspired them to select that name. :|

^^^ its probably the builders last name, i guess they want to make a mark on the city...same like mohammed lokhandwala's buildings...i wonder y they chose such italian ( or watever ) names for their buildings ?? doesnt seem to be anything common between their buildings designs and the italian designs.

Well the actual name of the building is the Italian name. Lodha Constructions is the developer company. It's standard terminology in India that, when the building is planned or until the building is completed to use the two put together, as often buildings have the same name. It also is used for in this forum (a) for ease of identification (b) as search engine tags.


The names are probably a marketing gimmick to easily differentiate his company's projects from other ones in Mumbai, so that when you see an Italian-esque name you can identify it as a Lodha Group project. I find it tacky, but at least the building's architecture is Indian-esque, and follows Vaastu, etc.

lodha is a slang for Dick in Hindi

The names surely do sound nice and give a modern feeling ... its nice that they have stopped some of the commonly used indian names.

isnt it lund but wow ive not been back for a long time in many years ( short breaks every summer) hence my vocab is terrible

but anyways i actually like the lodha construction updates they might not be tall but its still a step in the right direction

Sux to be him, then, I guess.

Here's a comparison of 2 panos I did, one from a couple years ago, one from a couple months ago. They are taken from a slightly different location hence don't exactly line up, but the part of the skyline in question is located between the two purple lines.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/6977/81727136va8.jpg

isnt it lund but wow ive not been back for a long time in many years ( short breaks every summer) hence my vocab is terrible

Lund/Loda is same thing..LOL

There are many more words in the bag.

Anyways,Good Luck Lodha Builders!

Cool projects.

Oh by the way..Lodha Group website is www.lodhagroup.com/

You can see the projects in more detail.

Like Jai, I agree the projects are very high quailty & impressive.

Enjoy!

Mumbai gets Rs 5000 cr in rail budget
BS Reporter / Mumbai February 27, 2007

The Railway Budget for 2007-08 will provide the much-needed relief to the average working class Mumbaikar who spends anything from 45 minutes to two hours commuting to work and back as Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announced to undertake Rs 5,000 crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project II (MUTP II) which is aimed at upgrading suburban railway network.

It was reliably learnt, railway ministry accepted to undertake MUTP II on a priority basis following Maharashtra’s promise to provide financial assistance to the tune of Rs 600 to the project.

Of the 5,000 crore, Railways will bear 88 per cent of the project cost, and it will raise 60 per cent of the funds through loans and 28 per cent through internal accruals. The state government will bear the rest of the burden.

A senior state government official said, gestation period for the Metro railway is too long and till then, we need to give a push to MUTP II to reduce the hardship of the suburban commuter to some extent.

Under the MUTP phase II it has been proposed to build two dedicated corridors for outstation trains and suburban trains on the central and western lines. This would lead to a greater frequency (a train every three minutes on all three suburban lines). Besides, it will also improve efficiencies of rail operations in Mumbai which will help the Railways save on energy bills between 20 per cent and 30 per cent. Most importantly, a substantial reduction in traffic.

The load-carrying capacity of rail rakes is around 1,700 commuters but during peak hours it is exceeded nearly three times and nearly 5,000 passengers travel during peak hours.

After completion of the MUTP I it is expected that it will come down to around 3,600 and at the end of phase II it will fall to 2,500 passengers, said Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation official...

i'd like to see the work actually happen. for too long we have been getting just lip service

M`rashtra ready to buy power at Rs 3.30 per unit

BS Reporter / Mumbai March 02, 2007
The ‘power’ hungry Maharashtra has climbed down from its previous stand against buying Dabhol power for anything above Rs 3 per unit, and has agreed to pay around Rs 3.30 per unit. The power purchase agreement (PPA) is likely to be signed between the state-owned power utility, MSEDCL, and owners of the Dabhol power plant, Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt Ltd (RGPPL).

Maharashtra, which is facing a huge power shortage of 5,700 Mw will not get any respite despite signing the PPA as RGPPL plant is unlikely to get synchronised before June.

A meeting to review the progress of Dabhol project was called by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh which was attended by state energy secretary B P Pandey, MSEDCL managing director A B P Pandey, RGPPL CMD Chandan Roy and GAIL senior officials. On the vexed issue of fixed and final cost of Dabhol power, Deshmukh showed willingness to be flexible and extend all cooperation to help the Dabhol plant go full steam.

It was reliably learnt that the state government agreed to the RGPPL's proposal of pegging fixed cost at Rs 1.06 paisa per unit instead of 96 paisa per unit as demanded by the government and final cost of power around Rs 3.30. However, officially it was decided to leave the decision on the contentious issue to the empowered group of ministers, headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee.

According to sources close to the development, RGPPL has reached an agreement on supply of gas with Petro Net. As per the agreement, the latter will supply 1.8 million tonne gas annually for the next two years to run RGPPL's two plants of 700 Mw each.

Though officials in the state energy ministry are expressing confidence that the pipeline between Uran and Dabhol will be completed by the end of March, it is reliably learnt that it will not be completed before the end of May.

At the today’s meeting, the chief minister assured RGPPL of a loan of Rs 450 crore to make the plant operational. The state government will recover the loan over the next two years by setting against the power bill payable to RGPPL.

Interesting architecture, by Reza Kabul

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Orchid Mall, Malad
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8247/express2f09e49qj9.jpg

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/3827/interior2f0e7d5yc3.jpg

-------==--=--==-------

Raghuleela Mall, Mumbai
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3989/front2f2f1fdty9.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3098/rear2f30518dx6.jpg

-------==--=--==-------

An interesting advert about Arihant Universal's project Aradhana, Kharghar. There aren't any details given except what's in this ad:
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4369/ad0500703dg6.png

Their website (http://www.arihantuniversal.com/) hasn't been updated with project details. Let's watch this space.



And here's a nice u/c view of Imperial Towers, from TOI
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7366/pc0490900xi6.jpg

Here is the largest size rendering of Imperial Towers I believe exists on the net. The previous rendering was about 1/2 the size:

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/1268/sdtowrewf3.jpg
^ You can see many details you otherwise couldn't have in the smaller rendering, especially in the roof.

However, this is only the 2nd latest of 3 released designs, so it may not reflect the actual structure.

-Jai

hey guys.

just wondering, how's construction on the Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai at Worli doing? i've never seen any photos of the construction or of the hotel before; could anyone possibly get an update?

thanks.

kuwaiti_patriot

hey guys.

just wondering, how's construction on the Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai at Worli doing? i've never seen any photos of the construction or of the hotel before; could anyone possibly get an update?

thanks.

kuwaiti_patriot

It's ready! If you scroll down here or in the cityscapes section....you'll find mention of it with a picture or two.

Hey guys, remember this?
http://img319.imageshack.us/img319/4559/shethbeaumondebldg1sl.jpg



...



...



...



Well, BEAU-FU©KIN-MONDE, baby!!!


The first high-res pics of the buildings under construction, from exploreyd @ webshots:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3361/36849205ev7.jpg


Yay,
Jai

WOW! You beat me to the post!

:)

A slightly bigger version...
photo copyright exploreyed

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6613/mumbaiexploreydsms8.jpg

NICE! :righton:

WOW! You beat me to the post!

:)
Jai: 1
Sun: 0

:lol:

Jai: 1
Sun: 0

:lol:

:cheers:

Hey guys, remember this?
http://img319.imageshack.us/img319/4559/shethbeaumondebldg1sl.jpg



...



...



...



Well, BEAU-FU©KIN-MONDE, baby!!!


The first high-res pics of the buildings under construction, from exploreyd @ webshots:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3361/36849205ev7.jpg


Yay,
Jai

I have a question the rendering shows that the greenery around the building, the swimming pool will it actually be there or no. Cause in the construction pic I see the road near the high rise buidling.

I have a question the rendering shows that the greenery around the building, the swimming pool will it actually be there or no. Cause in the construction pic I see the road near the high rise buidling.

my question also

I have a question the rendering shows that the greenery around the building, the swimming pool will it actually be there or no. Cause in the construction pic I see the road near the high rise buidling.

It may be on the other side?

http://www.shethbeaumonde.com/HTML/output/space.htm

the pools in front of the triangular top building. This picture is taken from the building farthest away from it and I believe from the front, and I think its impossible to tell from this picture how close that road runs in front of that triangular building. Looking at the picture, there is still considerable unaccounted for space in front of the triangular building that is behind the trees. But this is my educated guess.

WOW Beaumonde! BTW, when the hell did the third tower rise? We have posted so many pictures of this project from afar, and it was never that visible. But in this one.....it seems it's about to topout. IS SHeth constructions working at Burj dubai speeds now?:banana:

Guys,

Gianni Botsford Architects (http://www.giannibotsford.com/projects.html) seem to be currently working on a project entitled "World Trade Centre Tower, Mumbai, India", which will be a "Commercial & Residential" project.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8379/96518714aa0.jpg

Any idea's what this is about? NTC's 72 storey India International Trade Tower, which they have also called a "World Trade Centre"?

with beaumonde onstream, mumbai will get three 150 mts tower at one go!

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Mumbai_to_bloom_in_2-3_years_CM/articleshow/1727267.cms

Mumbai to bloom in 2-3 years: CM

PTI[ TUESDAY, MARCH 06, 2007 04:37:15 AM]

MUMBAI: Armed with the plans announced in the rail and general budgets, Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday said the only mantra to make Mumbai a world-class city in the next few years was to improve the infrastructure.

“Our only mantra is to build world-class infrastructure... In the next two-three years, things will rapidly change... It will be visible,” Mr Deshmukh said, ahead of the state budget on March 20.

“We have to have infrastructure of international standards. When they (foreign investors) come here, they should feel that they are on a par with other international cities,” Mr Deshmukh said in a wide-ranging interview.

“For commercial transactions, industry, stock exchanges, port, airport and other parameters are already in place,” he said. For the financial centre, the Centre has already appointed a committee, Mr Deshmukh said. “I had a talk with the committee members. They have submitted a report to the Centre. They have to take a final view on that,” he added.

Reacting to the present state of affairs in the city and the new activity shift to Navi Mumbai Mr Deshmukh said, “Building headquarters here or there... it could be in Nariman Point, Bandra-Kurla Complex, anywhere... it is not that material.”

“What matters is that the international companies and people who come here should get that kind of infrastructure,” he said.

Mr Deshmukh said the long-awaited Worli-Bandra sea link project will be completed by April 2008, easing traffic bottlenecks considerably. “For the second phase of the project, between Worli and Nariman Point, we are in the process of issuing global tenders. This would provide an alternate road link over sea,” he said.

“We have been talking about Mumbai’s makeover. MUTP phase one, which includes upgradation of railway services and infrastructure like roads and bridges, is already nearing completion,” Mr Deshmukh said.

For the second phase the Centre has already announced Rs 5,000 crore in the Railway Budget, he said. Tenders would be out in a month for the second phase of the ambitious Mumbai Metro project, he said. “Most of these projects are on a build own transfer (BOT) basis, so there is no problem,” he said.

Japan is also willing to finance development projects in Mumbai and other parts of the state, the chief minister said. “We have asked our officials to identify projects where Japanese assistance could be taken,” he said.

The Japanese are interested in financing road and rail infrastructure in Maharashtra and some irrigation projects, Mr Deshmukh said. “We have had initial discussions with them on the issue and they are more than willing to support us,” he said.

Funding for any of the developmental projects is not a problem, Mr Deshmukh added. Asked about delays in completion of these projects, he said: “In Mumbai, for any project you have to get through, rehabilitation of the project-affected people is the main problem.... The real problem is rehabilitation. It takes time. Then there is the feeling that the projects are being delayed,” he said.

Mr Deshmukh cited the case of Mumbai airport, which is being developed through privatisation. “There are over 70,000 hutments in its periphery. Unless they get alternate accommodation, it (development) is very difficult,” he said. “The real problem is rehabilitation. It takes time. Then there is the feeling that the projects are being delayed,” he said.

“We have to always keep in mind the human face, as has been stressed by the Prime Minister,” Mr Deshmukh said. “So far as MUTP and MUIP projects are concerned, we have already rehabilitated over 70,000 families,” he said.

I have a question the rendering shows that the greenery around the building, the swimming pool will it actually be there or no. Cause in the construction pic I see the road near the high rise buidling.

the buildings are quite a distance away from new prabhadevi road, at least 100 metres. they have set the buildings right at the back of the plot

Great up date of Beaumonde!!!

Work is progressing well. This is one of the best projects/buildings being executed in the city and very Dubai like.

Does anyone know of estimated completion dates?

Ansal Heights
photo copyright M_and_t

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/436/ansalheightsmumbaimandtyl8.jpg

i dont think bamboos gonna be good enough for the new heights of the buildings

id be shit scared if i had to go up on that "scafolding"

I hope u know that Hong Kong uses bamboo scaffolding even for buildings of 60F+, and it isn't a problem there. Thus, there is not harm in using bamboo scaffodling in Mumbai.

Ansall Heights could have been more taller!

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8895/090320075010120077de29nc9.jpg

Two bidders for second sealink

HT Epaper
07 Mar 2007

Madhurima Nandy
Mumbai

http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/4217/07032007001018009f64ebnf9.jpg

IT WILL be a 14-km bridge over the sea, almost thrice the length of the Bandra-Worli sealink, to take you from Worli to Nariman Point in less than 20 minutes. In a recent development, two parties — Anil Ambani’s Reliance Energy teamed up with South Korean company Hyundai consortium, and Malaysian firm Gamuda — have been shortlisted to develop the Rs 3,551 crore Western Freeway Sealink Project (WFSL) on a build-operate-transfer basis.

The much-delayed project, a crucial extension to the ongoing Bandra-Worli sealink, was supposed to take off by end-2006. The pre-qualification process itself has taken more than seven months.

Speaking to HT, State Public Works Department minister Anil Deshmukh said: “Bidders have now been issued draft bid documents, on the basis of which they will now have to submit technical and financial bids.” Senior Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) officials said the bidders had been chosen over both national and international bidders like Urbana from the US and Gammon. According to procedure, bidders will be soon issued complete bid documents after which they submit their final bids. Lastly, MSRDC will scrutinise the bids and select one.

REL is currently fighting a case against being thrown out of the pre-qualification process in the Rs 4,000 crore Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link project between Nhava Sheva and Sewri. Gamuda, a top infrastructure and engineering firm in Malaysia has a background of building and operating expressways and highways, tunnels as well as water infrastructure projects and is seriously looking at entering the Indian market in a big way.

madhurima.nandy@hindustantimes.com

BRIDGE BASICS
Route: Worli to Nariman Point
Total length: 16.92 km
Length of main bridge: 14.77 km
Project cost: Rs 3,500 crore
Travel time: Less than 20 mins at 100 km/hr

The sealink will connect to the mainland at Worli Dairy, Haji Ali and Bhulabhai Desai Road
http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/4545/07032007001018edc13ge4.th.jpg (http://img45.imageshack.us/my.php?image=07032007001018edc13ge4.jpg)

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Tata Power/Kalpataru Construction project, Thane
designed by Ong and Ong Architects, Gurgaon

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/689/tataperspective1757cb3bbr9.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/7955/taraperspective2757de85oc0.jpg

This master planning and design project, in Thane, Mumbai is set in picturesque surroundings, adjoining a national park.

The development consists of two tower blocks housing 132 apartments units, 25 landed homes and 800 m2 of retail space on a total site of 26,269m2. The focal point in this project is a landscaped band of water features cascading down the naturally differing levels of the terrain.

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Another view of Kalapataru Towers, Kandivali
designed by Ong and Ong Architects, Gurgaon

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/2217/dayviewnew75e392bff0.jpg

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/1223/nightviewnew75e2aa4jr5.jpg


Probably a more realistic rendering than this:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1446/towersperspectivezg9.jpg

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http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/430/ad0510312aj4.png

Great updates Jai! Kalapataru heights looks awesome!!

:cheers:

U is proffesionls.Hats off to ya for that buamonde stuff Mr J
talking with folk in china they all consistantly said that things have moved ahead quicker in the LAST TEN years than at any other time.And rather slowly B4 that.
So this being how it seems to work, Indian reforms sarting lets say 10 years later, all that is happening now is just the prerequesit for how mental its gonna be, in the decade 2010 - 20.
You mumbaikars better hang on!!

Rabale to get new station
HT Epaper 12 March 07
The Central Railway will soon open the Rabale passenger railway station for public. The station, designed by eminent architect Ratan J. Batliboi, is equipped with state-ofthe art facilities like a subway, huge parking space and polycarbonate station roof. The station is on the ThaneVashi line and will benefit the Thane-Belapur industrial zone.
http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/9495/130320070060020011b295dps9.jpg

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Infinity At Malad, IT Park Master Plan
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/6230/infinityatmalad112e16fzd7.jpg

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from Times of India ePaper. Sorry no link.

Rs 1,200 cr to flow into drains
Clara Lewis I TNN

The Central Expenditure Finance Committee has approved the sanctioning of Rs 1,200 crore for the BRIMSTOWAD project, which is intended to augment the city’s storm water drains.
The proposal now awaits a final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Rajeeva Ratna Shah, member-secretary, Planning Commission, said BRIMSTOWAD was the only BMC project to be fully financed by the Centre, which had already made an allocation of Rs 400 crore for it in the Union Budget.
The BMC has already budgeted Rs 630 crore for phase I of the project—Rs 300 crore for the actual nullah work, Rs 200 crore for the pumping stations and Rs 150 crore for the rehabilitation of affected slum-dwellers. The augmentation of the entire drainage network will be completed over the next three years.
D S Palshikar, chief engineer, storm water drains, said the money to rehabilitate slum-dwellers hindering work on widening drains had already been paid to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority. “The tenements will be handed over to the BMC by the end of the month,’’ he said.
Work on four major underground drains in the island city, seven in the western suburbs and eight in the eastern suburbs have been taken up for widening and deepening. These include the Grant Road-Nana Chowk storm water drain, the Britannia outfall at Reay Road, which carries water from Hindmata Parel and Dadar TT, the Lovegrove outfall drain system and the Dr E Moses Road system in Mahalaxmi.
In the Western suburbs the areas that will benefit are Lokhandwala, Kasamnagar, Andheri (West), Juhu-Vile Parle Development Scheme, Juhu airport area, Siddharth Nagar, Goregaon (West), Charkop, Kandivli (West) and Dahisar (West), among other places. In the eastern suburbs, Nehru Nagar, Kurla, Everard Nagar, Sion, Naval Store Depot, Vidyavihar, Chunabhatti, Safed Pool Nagar, Kurla, Bhandup village and Neelam Nagar, Mulund, will benefit.
However, work on the Rs 200 crore pumping stations at Lovegrove, Haji Ali, Cleveland (all in Worli) and at Irla nullah, Vile Parle, will now begin only after the monsoon. Civic sources said this was because of the delay in obtaining the designs for the pumping stations from the consultants.