Published on: Sept 12, 2025 07:18 am IST
Mumbai Port Authority’s plan to lease 28 waterfront plots faces delays due to low interest, extending the deadline for proposals by a month.
MUMBAI: The Mumbai Port Authority’s (MbPA) plan to lease 28 plots on Mumbai’s eastern waterfront has hit a speed bump. The Expression of Interest (EOI) floated by the port authority in August has received a poor response, prompting it to extend the deadline by a month.
Ten entities have responded to the EOI, the original deadline being September 11. “Many companies have made inquiries but we have received only ten serious proposals. Hence, we have decided to extend the EOI by a month,’’ said a senior MbPA official.
The MbPA is one of Mumbai’s biggest landlords, owning vast stretches of land along the waterfront from Colaba to Wadala. Its plan to lease these 28 plots, collectively covering 215 acres, was first reported in HT on August 12, 2025. In doing so, the port authority hopes to raise ₹814.04 crore in revenue, annually.
All these plots are in prime locations, some sea-facing. They will be leased for 30 years, exclusively for industrial and commercial purposes. The planning authority for these 28 plots is MbPA, which will clear the development approvals, except for the plot at Apollo Bunder and the one at Thal in Alibag, Raigad district.
The move has caused a flutter as it suggests that the MbPA has shelved its proposed plan to develop the 28-km eastern waterfront with world-class public amenities and open spaces in a city bursting at its seams. This transformative proposal was finalised in 2018 and, if implemented, would unlock the unused potential of 966 hectares of port land along Mumbai’s east coast.
