MTNL to form separate entity for real estate development

New Delhi, Apr 25 (UNI) Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited's (MTNL) Chairman and Managing Director R S P Sinha today said that the dominant telecom operator in Delhi and Mumbai will foray into real estate and form a separate entity that would generate revenue for the PSU where the government holds the majority 56.25 per cent stake.

''We have decided that since real estate is an enormous form of investment opportunity we would form a seprate entity'', Mr Sinha said here.

He said large tracts of land owned by MTNL in prime locations exist in the twin cities of Delhi and Mumbai which could be utilised to give off rent.

MTNL's other operations outside the two cities include Mauritius and Nepal. Mr Sinha said Rs one crore per month accrues from the operations in the island country alone.''There is a huge demand for handheld devices in Mauritius,'' Mr Sinha said.

While the Nepal operations has to be streamlined further, they are awaiting for political conditions to stabilise in the Himalayan state.

He said the Millenium Telecom Ltd, a subsidiary of MTNL which has become a joint venture with BSNL for entering the International Long Distance (ILD) segment is excecuting a project of Rs 2,000 crores for submarine cable linking Mumbai-Gulf-Europe and the East Coast-Singapore- and beyond.

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