To expedite the monetisation plans for government-owned land assets across the country, the National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) has decided to rope in international property consultancy firms to help strategise and implement transactions from start to finish.
Following an announcement in the 2021-22 Union Budget, the NLMC, steered by the Department of Public Enterprises was set up last year to undertake monetisation of surplus land and building assets of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and other government agencies.
These assets could be core assets that are under operation by a public agency such as transmission lines, roads or a railway line or could be non-core assets which are in surplus, unused or under-used (largely comprising of land, buildings and other immovable properties), with no clear and present plan for optimal use in the near future.
The Corporation has now invited proposals from international property consultancy firms (IPCs) or other firms engaged in transaction advisory services, asset monetisation or project monetisation which will be empanelled to assist in the “formulation of monetisation strategy, conducting technoeconomic feasibility studies of each asset and provide end-to-end transaction advisory services and ensure completion of transactions for monetisation of the assets”.
A pre-bid conference with prospective consultants is scheduled for next week, said an official aware of the development, who added that the empanelled firms’ tasks could include assisting in NLMC’s monetisation plans right from the first step that entails transfer of such assets to the Corporation from public sector firms being closed or where strategic disinvestment is being undertaken. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, currently working on the strategic sales of several PSUs, including Concor, Shipping Corporation of India and BEML – has been steering the demerger of these companies’ non-core and land assets before they are put on the block.
As per the mandate, the property consulting firms will also be required to assist in finalising monetisation models and transaction structure for individual assets, finalising their valuation, preparing bid documents and holding road shows for prospective investors.
