Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) Karnataka Telecom Circle chief general manager Ujwal Gulhane on Thursday said the company is trying to monetise its excess land assets to fund capital expenditure, including infrastructure upgradation.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Gulhane said the company has now become EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) positive. With the earnings enough only for operational expenditure, it needed funds for capital expenditure and hence a decision was taken at the all-India level to monetise excess land, he said.
In Karnataka, two land parcels, one in Mangaluru and another in Mysuru, have been put up for e-auction in the first phase. A two-acre plot housing the BSNL store yard was put up for auction at a reserve price of ₹39 crore and the last date to submit bids through www.mstcecommerce.com was July 1, he said. The RFP and other documents could be accessed through assetmonetization.bsnl.co.in, he said.
The Mysuru land parcel was put for e-auction with a reserve price of ₹21 crore. Legal diligence was under process for another 14 land parcels across Karnataka, he added.
Three land parcels in Mangaluru [Bajal BTS site at Yekkur with 1,214 sqm area, microwave staff quarters compound, Kunjathabail, with 2,592 sqm area, and telecom compound, Bolara, with 13 cents] too were identified for e-auction in the later stage, he said.
Asked whether BSNL would not require space for its future expansion, BSNL DK Telecom District principal general manager Naveen Gupta said only vacant land parcels were identified for monetisation.
Mr. Gulhane further said with the advancement in technology, the space required for infrastructure becomes less and hence there was no rationale in keeping vacant land. Almost all land was purchased by the Department of Telecom or BSNL at market prices, he clarified.
CGM-Monetisation P. Dayal and other senior officials were present.
Published - June 27, 2024 08:44 pm IST
