Adani to kick off Dharavi project with $1.5 bn investment

livemint.com:

₹12,000 crore of funds to start the redevelopment work at Mumbai’s Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, two people directly aware of the development said. On 14 July, the Maharashtra government approved the Adani group to redevelop the crowded Dharavi slum—a complex 590-acre cluster of irregular structures, rickety tenements and decrepit buildings sheltering over 900,000 citizens and hundreds of small commercial setups. A special purpose vehicle (SPV), 80% owned by the Adani group and the rest by the Maharashtra government, was formed in September, following which discussions internally and with the state authorities, including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), have been initiated for the $1.5 billion (nearly ₹12,500 crore) investment, according to the people cited above.

“Around $8 billion worth of cash is there with Adani group’s books. An additional $2 billion could be raised via sales of equity stakes in certain group firms going forward. So, at this point, Adani group will fund the redevelopment project via internal accruals," the first person said, requesting anonymity.

An Adani group spokesperson declined to comment on the funding. “Adani group could utilize 15-20% of its cash to start the redevelopment. In future, external financiers could be considered, depending on the consent of the group and the state government," said one of the two people.