Mumbai 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to take on lease at least 50,000 square feet of office space in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and South Mumbai.

According to an Expression of Interest (EoI) floated by the RBI, the acquisition of office premises is proposed on a long-term lease basis for a minimum 40,000 square feet carpet area located in and around BKC within a radius of 5 km from its BKC office.

In another EoI, the RBI said the acquisition of office premises is proposed on long-term lease basis for at least 10,000 square feet carpet area located in and around South Mumbai within a radius of 5 km from its Fort office.

Both the buildings should project a professional and aesthetically pleasing appearance and should be approved for office use, the central bank added.

Cushman & Wakefield India Pvt Ltd is the appointed realty consultant agency for handling the work related to taking on lease commercial office premises in Mumbai, the RBI said.

Gagan Randev, Executive Director, India Sotheby’s International Realty, said BKC has emerged as the financial capital’s most sought after office destination for global banks, financial institutions and funds over the last 7-8 years and its high time RBI has its presence there.

The demand for office space in BKC, even at much higher rentals than South Mumbai, outstrips South Mumbai by a ratio of 5:1 as reflected by the data provided by CRE Matrix, a data analytics platform for residential and commercial real estate.

“This is because of the quality of buildings, quality of infrastructure and the go-to financial hub which has now been created. The attractiveness of BKC will continue to be robust with the recent flyovers opened and the opening of Maker Maxity Mall as well,” Randev added.