American software services giant Oracle has leased 50,000 square feet space in the First International Financial Centre (FIFC) in Mumbai's secondary business district Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).

Oracle has confirmed that it has leased the space at a price of Rs 340 a square feet per month, or Rs 20 crore a year.

Normally, office rentals in the BKC range between Rs 275 and Rs 290 per square feet per month.

Commenting on the Oracle deal, global realty services firm Aperon's Raja Seetharaman said, "It is one of the expensive deals and they have paid 15 to 20 per cent more than the average rent in that area."

In April last year, US-based Citigroup has acquired 297,000 square feet of space in the FIFC for Rs 985 crore, or Rs 33,164 per square feet. As the rents are nearly 10 per cent of the total buy-out, it translates to be Rs 276 per square feet.

The FIFC was developed by a consortium of investors, including US-based Starwood Capital Group, India Property Fund, and Urban Infrastructure Real Estate Fund.

Separately, MMRDA commissioner U. P. S. Madan has announced that the authority was mulling a plan to introduce battery-operated buses in Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The proposal to introduce battery-operated buses is part of the MMRDA's measures to make the business district pollution-free, though the proposal is currently in its nascent stage.