Maharashtra chalks out plan to make MMR global economic hub

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is set to launch a plan to develop the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) into a global economic hub, weeks after NITI Aayog set a target of doubling the region’s GDP from $140 billion in 2022-23 to $300 billion in the next five years.
Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday chaired a meeting with senior officials from various state government departments, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and consultants to discuss the plan of action. The state government is expected to formally launch the plan on September 12 and form a project management unit with various committees under it.
The government has identified big-ticket “platinum” and “golden” projects that would drive the region’s growth. The platinum projects include the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link or Atal Setu, the development of Gorai, Alibaug, and Madh as tourist hubs, and the development of an integrated logistic park on 248 hectares in Kharbav in Vasai worth a potential $560 crore. The industrial towns at Angelo-Saape, Wadhwan and Dighi would be developed into high-growth industrial hubs, with an estimated investment of $10 billion.
The golden projects include the Mumbai-Pune highway service lane, the Goregaon-Thane tunnel, Sinhgad road, the bullet train, and integrated river rejuvenation projects.
The state government has also decided to concentrate on housing projects at 12 locations under the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area or NAINA, a metro line along the coastal road, and the Metro-5 line (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan), with an investment of $12.7 billion. It also plans to upgrade the carrying capacity of public transport in Mumbai by strengthening the Bus Rapid Transit System, which would accommodate 200,000 additional passengers in seven years, said an official from the finance department.
The chief minister has directed the state machinery to aim to make MMR a powerhouse of the Indian economy by 2047 through huge investments in transportation, sustainable urban development and infrastructure development, added the official.
MMR is one of the four regions with high growth potential that NITI Aayog, the central government’s public policy think tank, has identified that could immensely contribute to making India a $5 trillion economy. Surat, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam are the other three. NITI Aayog believes MMR has the highest growth potential out of the four regions.
In a meeting with Shinde last month, the think tank asked the Maharashtra government to concentrate on seven growth drivers and attract investment of $125-135 billion from the private sector to achieve its $1 trillion economy target by 2028.
The state government has also decided to develop the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Vadhavan, Dighi and Revas ports, said the official quoted earlier. It wants to expand the Mumbai international airport and simultaneously complete the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport by investing $200 crore. The shores of the Mithi and Oshiwara rivers would be developed for leisure and tourism on the lines of the Namami Gange project. The government also plans to invest $164 billion on projects in various sectors and services, the official added.