IT Correspondent
New Delhi, June 21:
Air India has announced the sale of its commercial and residential real estate assets in different parts of the country, through an e-auction, with a plan to raise Rs 200 to 300 crore, as part of the disinvestment process of India’s national air carrier.
As per an advertisement, the current e-auction bid’s starts on July 08, 2021, and closes on July 09, 2021. The e-auction notice is available on its website. Air India, through MSTC invites e-auction bids for sale of the properties located across India,” according to the notice.
The government is in the process of deciding on the final contours for the disinvestment of loss-making Air India and a special purpose vehicle — Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL) — has been set up to hold the non-core assets of Air India group. It was set up for warehousing accumulated working capital loan not backed by any asset along with four subsidiaries — Air India Air Transport Services Ltd, Airline Allied Services Ltd, Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) and Hotel Corporation of India Ltd (HCI) — and various non-core assets.
The properties to be sold in auction include five units at the Asian Games Village Complex in Delhi, a residential plot with 14 flats in Pali Hill, Bandra, Mumbai; and a 3BHK and two 2BHK flats in Gazdar Scheme, Santacruz, Mumbai. The list also includes a residential plot in Gangamuthanhalli Village, Devanahalli District in Bengaluru and four units of residential flats in Uday Shankar Sarani, Golf Green, Kolkata.
In Maharashtra, it has listed booking offices and staff quarters in Town Centre, Aurangabad, six units of CIDCO 2BHK flats in Swami Vivekanand Nagar, Nashik, and booking office in Civil Lines, Nagpur. In Gujarat, a residential plot (231 sq. m. approx.) and an Airlines House in Bhuj are on offer. A flat in Hoisala, Diana Complex, Kadri, Mangalore(Karnataka), a residential plot at NCC Nagar, Peroorkkada, Kadappanakunnu Village, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) also feature on the list.
The disinvestment of cash-strapped Air India, is likely to happen by the end of this year, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said earlier this month. “Air India is still in the debt of Rs 60,000 crore and it’s liable to be sold. The government is hoping to fetch approximately Rs 15,000 crore from the sale of national carrier Air India, it’s subsidiary Air India Express and AISATS – a 50:50 joint venture partnership between Air India and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) Limited.
The Tata Group and SpiceJet CEO Ajay Singh are the final two bidders for Air India. Both submitted Expressions of Interest (EoI) to the government in December 2020 and are expected to submit financial bids. The similar auction was held on January 07,2021 to sell Air India’s 14 properties across the country.
The government’s budgetary proposal is to raise Rs. 1.75 lakh crore from disinvestments and strategic sales in 2021-22. The disinvestment plan includes the sale of assets such as BPCL, Air India, Shipping Corporation of India, Container Corporation of India, IDBI Bank, BEML, Pawan Hans and Neelachal Ispat Nigam amongst others.
