NTC to e-auction surplus mill land in Indore and Bangalore

NEW DELHI - After netting around Rs.2,000 crore in two e-auctions in July and August, the National Textile Corporation (NTC) will put on sale two more properties, one each in Indore and Bangalore.

“From the surplus land of Malwa United Mills in Indore, the NTC will put on the block 16.57 acres with a reserve price of Rs.60 crore from Oct 25 to 27. The tenders to shortlist the participants in the three-day auction will be opened on Oct 18,” NTC Chairman-cum-Managing Director K. Ramachandran Pillai said here.

Another 1,703 acres of Minerva Mills in Bangalore will be up for grabs from Nov 15 to 17 and the reserve price has been fixed at Rs.50 crore for this property. The tenders inviting interested parties for the e-auction have been already invited, he said.

“Though we have fixed Rs.110 crore for the two lots, we expect double the amount of the reserve price, going by the trends in the last two auctions, especially after witnessing neck-to-neck fight in the final moments between the contestants,” said Pillai.

Real estate major Indiabulls bagged NTC’s 8.38 acres of Bharat Textile Mills land in Mumbai for a whopping Rs 1,505 crore, against a reserve price of Rs.750 crore. It also won the 2.39 acres Poddar Mills Process House land for Rs.474 crore, paying almost double the reserve price of Rs.250 crore.

NTC is planning at least six more online auctions this fiscal.

On a modernisation drive, NTC hopes to mop up around Rs.8,000 crore more, 60 per cent higher than the previous target in the wake of record results of the two e-auctions, by selling off the surplus land this fiscal, to part finance the restructuring of the company.

It has about 1,300 acre of surplus land in various places such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Indore, Karnataka and Coimbatore.

After closing down as many as 77 unviable units, the NTC has launched its ambitious Rs.9,102-crore revival package for 24 mills. It has spent nearly Rs.900 crore and completed the modernisation of 18 mills.