Dharavi redevelopment poses one of India's biggest real estate execution tests: HSBC

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 7 (ANI): The Dharavi Redevelopment Project, one of the world's largest urban regeneration initiatives, presents a "massive execution challenge" for the Adani Group as it seeks to rehabilitate more than one million residents and construct over 125,000 housing units over the next seven to eight years, according to an HSBC Global Investment Research report.
In a report titled "One of the world's largest urban regeneration projects", HSBC said the scale and complexity of the redevelopment make it one of India's most ambitious real estate undertakings.
Calling it "a massive execution challenge," the report said Adani aims to execute the rehabilitation portion of the project "over the next seven to eight years," while simultaneously undertaking large-scale infrastructure development and environmental restoration works.
The report noted that Dharavi, spread across around 600 acres in central Mumbai, houses more than a million people and is widely regarded as Asia's largest slum.
According to HSBC, the redevelopment project involves a rehabilitation area of 95 million square feet and plans for more than 125,000 housing units for slum dwellers.
"The 95msf of rehabilitation involves more than 1 million slum dwellers for whom over 125K units are planned to be constructed," the report said.
HSBC highlighted that the rehabilitation effort will be spread across multiple locations. "Half of these are planned in the current area of Dharavi while the rest is spread across six areas in the MMR region," it added.
The report said Adani has set clear execution milestones for the project. "The first building on the land parcel of Indian Railways" is expected to be handed over in December 2026, while the construction of around "30K units" is expected to be underway in FY27.
Beyond housing, HSBC said the company is planning a wide range of supporting infrastructure and civic projects.
"The company also plans to provide 10 years of O&M for the rehabilitated units, clean up the Mithi river and Deonar dumping ground, develop a 6km long mangrove creek and a Marine Drive style promenade along the Mithi river, amongst other infrastructure upgrades," the report said.
The report noted that the Dharavi Redevelopment Project was approved in 2022 and is structured as a public-private partnership between the Maharashtra government and the Adani Group.
HSBC said the project aims to transform Dharavi into "an urban transit-oriented hub" through rehabilitation, infrastructure upgrades and the development of residential and commercial projects.
The report added that the overall redevelopment spans around 225 million square feet, making it one of the largest urban renewal projects currently under execution globally. (ANI)