Iconic Air India building in Maharashtra's Mumbai has a new owner: You will be surprised to find out!

The Maharashtra government has become the owner of iconic Air India building with the Union government approving transfer of the asset on Thursday.

Air India building sold for...

The Maharashtra government bought the Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for ₹1,601 crore.

"GoI has approved transfer of Air India building, Mumbai of AI Assets Holding Company Ltd (AIAHL) to Government of Maharashtra (GoM) at consideration of ₹1601 cr. GoM has agreed to waive dues of ₹298.42 cr, which would have been otherwise payable by AIAHL to GoM for this transaction," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a post on X.

What's AIAHL?

AIAHL, a Government of India company under administrative control of Ministry of Civil Aviation, was set up in 2019 for holding non-core assets and debt of Air India.

The non-core assets of Air India, including land and building, valued at ₹14,718 crore were transferred to AIAHL after it was set up by the government as a precursor to the sale of Air India for holding the debt and non-core assets of the then national carrier.

Tatas bought the airline in 2022

The government had on January 27, 2022, transferred ownership in Air India to the Tata Group which had in October 2021, put in a ₹18,000 crore bid for buying Air India.

Iconic building, now office space

Constructed in 1974 on a land owned by the state government, the building will now be used by it as its office space. Nearly 46,470 square meters of space will be available for government offices in the 23-storey building.

After the 2012 fire at Mantralaya, the state secretariat building in south Mumbai, four major departments -- public health, medical education, water supply and sanitation, and rural development -- have been operating from GT Hospital. These departments, along with others, may be shifted to the Air India building.

Air India building: The architect

One of Mumbai's iconic buildings, the sea-facing Air India tower was built by John Burgee of the New York-based architectural firm Johnson/Burgee. Burgee was known for his contribution to post-modern architecture.