No sale of immovable property, 15 acres to Rafferty only on lease: L&T Metro Rail

HYDERABAD: L&T Metro Rail, Hyderabad, which has informed BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) on Wednesday that the company had taken a decision to sell 15 acres at Raidurg Metro station in Hyderabad to Rafferty Developments for Rs 1,500 crore, as a 'slump sale', has clarified that it is sub-licensing the property to Rafferty and there is no sale of immovable property owned by the Government of Telangana.

In a statement issued in Hyderabad on Thursday, the company clarified that consequent to the approval of the Board of L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited and the Government of Telangana allowing L&T Metro Rail to monetise the sub-license rights in Transit-oriented Development (ToD) land at Raidurg, the same was informed to the BSE on Wednesday after approval of the shareholders in the extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

“There is no sale of immovable property as the property is owned by the Government. The sub-licensing rights are only for the remaining period of the Concession Agreement. Some more approvals are awaited and only after obtaining that, the transaction will be completed,” the statement said. The transaction value would be finalised after obtaining all necessary approvals, L&T clarified.

The L&T earlier described the sale as a 'slump sale', and the estimated value of the land is reportedly around Rs. 1,500 crore. The State Government had initially allotted this land to L&T for future requirements as part of their agreement and L&T had already constructed a building on 9 acres of this land, at Rs 200 crore. However, L&T announced that it decided to sell 15 acres of land and the building to generate income for purposes such as Metro Rail maintenance and achieving break-even.