HDIL puts Kochi land on block to mobilise funds

Debt-laden property developer HDIL has put its 70-acre land parcel in Kochi on the block for mobilising funds.

“We are looking at prospective buyers for selling the land. But at the same time, we are also open for joint development if we are able to find a good partner,” the city-based company’s vice-president for finance and investor relations Hari Prakash Pandey told PTI today.

The company, which recently got its slum rehabilitation contract with the Mumbai Airport terminated, had planned to set up an IT park on the 70 acre plot on the Cochin special economic zone at Kalamassery with a planned investment of Rs 2,300 crore.

“The aim is to mobilise funds and utilise it for debt repayment as well as for expansion of the Mumbai metropolitan region,” he said.

The company’s debt on consolidated basis stands at Rs 3,900 crore, and on a standalone basis it is Rs 3,100 crore.

HDIL is primarily into redevelopment, especially slums in Mumbai, and also planning to sell its property in Hyderabad, Pandey said.

He said the company had invested around Rs 300 crore to purchase properties in Kochi and Hyderabad.

When asked how much was the company expecting from the sale of its Kochi land, Pandey said, “it is very difficult to ascertain an amount at this moment.”

On the tussle with MIAL, he said the company is awaiting legal opinion to challenge the arbitrary termination by the airport operator.

In the March quarter of FY13, HDIL reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 280 crore, and for the full fiscal it registered a net profit of Rs 73 crore.

COMMENT NOW