RBI plans to buy additional office space in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is looking for additional office space in the financial capital near its head office in south Mumbai, or in the Bandra Kurla Complex area. According to the RBI, it wants office space with a size of 2,601 to 7,681 square metres, for which it has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for “outright purchase of office premises” in Mumbai.

The central bank “intends to purchase vacant and peaceful possession of office space having clear and marketable title, for its use in south Mumbai and/or in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area near to its existing establishments…,” the RFP document said.

As per the RFP, the RBI is looking for office premises with minimum 2,601 sq/mtr(28,000 sq/ft) and maximum 7,618 sq/mtr (82,000 sq/ft) carpet area located in south Mumbai within a radius of 1.5 km from its Central Office Building in Fort, Mumbai and/or in BKC.

Offers of property situated on leasehold land with residual lease period at least 30 years will also be considered by the RBI, the document added.

Anuj Puri, chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants, said that as per ANAROCK Research, total leasable space at BKC is approximately 8.7 million sq/ft area out of which 8-10 per cent is lying vacant.

In the Central Business District (CBD) area, total leasable space is approximately 2.1 million sq/ft area out of which 10-12 per cent is lying vacant, he said.

Karan Singh Sodi, Regional Managing Director, India, JLL, said these micro markets (Old CBD/ Fort and New CBD/ BKC) are starved of any single owned assets that may be in the position to meet such a requirement, as there is an extremely low supply of Grade A offices here matching the requirement.

“The rates for Grade A offices in ‘Old CBD’ area will be in the range of Rs 25,000-Rs 50,000 on the carpet. However, when we look at the New CBD (BKC), there are a few Grade A buildings that may meet this need. Typical Grade A pricing in the BKC micro-market ranges between Rs 45,000 to Rs 65,000 on the carpet,” he said.

Since land development in BKC falls under the purview of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), development in this micro-market is more regulated and hassle-free and always with a clear title deed, Sodi said.

The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

The Central Office of the Reserve Bank was initially established in Kolkata but was permanently moved to Mumbai in 1937. The Central Office is where the Governor sits and where policies are formulated.

Though originally privately owned, since nationalisation in 1949, the Reserve Bank is fully owned by the Government of India.

The RBI has 27 regional offices, most of them in state capitals and 4 sub-offices.