MSRDC plans IPO, racing track to tide over debt

With around Rs 4200 crore debt in the last three to four years, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation ( MSRDC) is struggling to straighten their finances with help of various revenue- generation methods. This, even as authorities maintain that they are not under any pressure, as the debt figure is the total amount and not the entire money that needs to be paid on an immediate basis.

" Of the total debt, around Rs 1000 crore needs to be paid on an immediate basis, while the rest can be paid over a period 20 years," said Bipin Srimali, Vice- President and Managing Director, MSRDC. One of the most crucial among the various plans the agency has for generating revenue is to restructure their financial face, by entering the stock market, thereby imparting them a corporate look.

Though the idea was discussed around a year ago, it was recently that the MSRDC has begun considering the task seriously, and is reportedly in talks with financial consultants for the same. " We are in discussion with finance consultant KPMG and Barclay, a wealth management firm, for the same" said an MSRDC official.

" The first goal is to take out an initial public offering ( IPO) and then observe the public response," said Srimali.

Another ambitious project is to develop a car- racing track of Formula One standards in the city for which they have identified three plots. These spots are near Marve in Malad, which belongs to the State revenue department, in Panvel near the Mumbai- Pune Expressway and in Kalyan. " We are currently finalising the land on which we can develop the track, as we require around 450 - 500 acres," said Srimali.

The agency has already started inviting bids for this project.