For a slice of a Mumbai slum’s real estate and to grab a seat alongside those riding the financial capital’s next promised boom, 78 companies including the big daddies of global real estate are vying to participate in the proposed redevelopment of Dharavi.

As the last of the Expressions of Interest came in on Thursday evening, those at the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) of the Government of Maharashtra were mildly shocked to find 25 foreign players among the bidders, from as far apart as West Asia and Malaysia. The response was much better than expected: A total of 26 consortia, considerably more than the SRA’s own target of 15.

A Malaysian firm joined hands with Mumbai-based Kalpataru and those who built Magarpatta City. In the fine-print detailing the 100 acres of township construction and 70 million sq ft of built-up space required for the consortia to pre-qualify, the success stories were just as disparate: Emaar from Dubai, the Hiranandani’s townships in Mumbai suburbs Powai and Thane, DLF’s Gurgaon model along with Akruti, which has done dozens of Mumbai slum redevelopment buildings. There was also New York-based equity investment firm Lehman Brothers partnering Mumbai’s Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), the real estate arm of the Wadhawan Group.

“It’s the power of India,” said Anuj Puri of real estate consultants Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. “Everybody wants to be part of the economy and it’s the vitality.”

Every real estate major in the country features in the list of the 78 companies—HDIL, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd, Lanco Infrastructure, Kalpataru, L& T, Oberoi, Unitech, Videocon, Sobha Developers, Indiabulls, Orchid and Shapoorji Pallonji.

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