'Tenders for MbPT land development project consultant in 10 days'

Mumbai Port Trust MbPT chairman Sanjay Bhatia on Monday said a global tender will be floated in 10 days to appoint a project management and implementation consultant who will create a masterplan for the proposed portland development at the countrys oldest harbourCreating basic infrastructure will take two to four years he said adding the final action plan will draw from the numerous committee reports which have been presented till now by a slew of stakeholders including citizen groups industry lobbies etcTill now the plans that have been made are general We do not have a detailed masterplan enlisting where to build a road a marina or a restaurant I need to appoint a consultant for that Bhatia who took over as the chairman recently saidWe are not here to make another study report we will be appointing a project management and implementation consultant who prepares a masterplan and implements it Bhatia said adding he would also like to have Cidco as a special advisorHe said a project management and implementation consultant helped with the developmental projects he had undertaken as Cidco managing director in Navi Mumbai and added tender for a project management and implementation consultant for the portland development will be floated in 10 daysStating that the suggestions for the land use include public utilities urban transport waterfront activities and seaside development like hotels Bhatia said there are a slew of challenges for the implementationSpecifically suggestions include gardens playgrounds cycling tracks walkways marinas floating restaurants metro rai a BurjKhalifa like hotel etcAfter central Mumbais mill land the release of MbPTs excess land on the eastern waterfront is seen as a bonanza for the spacestarved megapolisUnion Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari had tried to assuage concerns earlier saying it will be used for public good and not for the benefit of realty developersBhatia said 1000 acres of the overall 1800 acre land of the MbPT is available for development but this is not contiguous There are various agencies both at the Central and the state levels which deal with various facets making coordination a key challenge he addedGiving out timelines Bhatia said the preparatory work will take up to four months and the plan should get completed in six months This will be followed by the development of the infrastructure which shall take between two and four years He said a highlevel coordination committee with the Union shipping secretary as the chairman and cochaired by the state chief secretary will be formedFor finances he said MbPT will look at raising money through leasing out part of the land to fund public infrastructure To start with there are at least 40 vacant plots which could be leased out to generate the cash he saidBhatia however made it clear that getting funds either from loans or from some nongovernmental organisations or corporate largesse is not a solution for the needs He said a big chunk of the free land is stuck in encroachments by slums and also in litigation as people haveopposed MbPTs decision not to extend leasesThe chairman made it clear that MbPT will not be extending any leases except those where it does not plan any development like the Apollo Bunder area which houses the iconic Taj Mahal HotelWith many reports recommending transfer of land to a special purpose vehicle or SPV to carry out the development Bhatia said in the face of so much litigation the trust cannot form the SPV for at least threefour years In the absence of an SPV it will be creating a special department of portland development internally to undertake the functionThe MbPT will strengthen its legal team given all the challenges on that front it is facing and will also undergo an organisational changes to make it possible to work under the current system he said There is also a need for changing the land use system as the existing laws provide for usage of the land for only portrelated activities he addedBhatia said the MbPT should be given the status of a special planning authority on the lines of the Cidco for carrying out such a task but said the Union shipping ministry will have to be convinced about this Marking cruise shipping as a focus area Bhatia said it has been decided to prioritise the passenger berth in the port for hosting such cruise ships rather than for the cargoCargo movements will be limited to the offshore container terminal and the Indira Dock he said