A prime piece of land in the South Mumbai area of Mahalaxmi has fetched a record bid of 2,251 crores of rupees in a 99-year lease deal, as announced by the Railway Land Development Authority. The 2.66-acre plot of land in the Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai is a hot favorite among buyers as it has turned out to be one of the costliest business transactions in the history of commercial realty in the country.
The plot, measuring 10,801.70 square meters, was first put up for bidding with a Reserve Price of close to ₹1,000 crore. But a host of companies showed interest in bidding for the plot, and these include Sobha Realty, Lodha Group, and RMZ Group. The highest bid was submitted by Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, making it the highest bidder for that prime plot. RLDA officials confirmed that a letter of acceptance would be dispatched within 10 days of receiving the bid, after which developers will be required to take approvals.
The Mahalaxmi plot has an inherent floor space index (FSI) of 4.0, facilitating extensive commercialization. RLDA's move to monetize this plot is consistent with its overall approach of harnessing the most valuable railway-owned lands to raise funds and enhance the rail-based infrastructure of the city. RLDA wants to tap investors, both local as well as foreign, for redeveloping this plot and commercially utilizing it.
This is a part of a broader blueprint that RLDA, on behalf of Indian Railways, is following to generate approximately ₹8,000 crore by unlocking 25 acres located in prime areas of Mumbai. Other locations apart from the land in Mahalaxmi include five acres located in Bandra West, where currently the railway staff quarters, constructed in 1955, are operational, a site in Bandra East, and another located in Parel, which is in Central Mumbai.
According to Industry observers, the fact that the highest bid has been placed on the Mahalaxmi site indicates that there is hope in the Mumbai market, despite the uncertainty that looms over the economy. Connectivity, accessibility to the main business hubs, and visibility provided by this site ensure that it is the best site to develop quality offices, retail, and hotel properties. Successful monetization attempts of land parcels owned by the railway authority can be benchmarks.
In one of the largest land deals of 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought 4.16 acres of land from the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) in Nariman Point, Mumbai, for ₹3,472 crore. This transaction, carried out under a direct purchase agreement, indicated increased values of prime land in Mumbai, as institutional buyers were ready to pay top bucks for such locations. The RBI purchased the property after global bids were invited by MMRCL for long-term lease monetization.
The current RLDA undertaking also underscores the overall efforts of the government to monetize public assets and raise funds for infrastructure development through innovative real estate transactions. The success of the current bids in these high-value transactions will also set the tone for the success of future urban redevelopment schemes.
But the Mahalaxmi transaction and such deals illustrate an important development in the Mumbai property market – the rising prices of land, stiff competition between real estate companies, and an increased desire for prime properties with long-term potential for returns. With approvals in process for such deals, the commercial scenario in Mumbai therefore faces an important evolution in the near future.
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