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- By Parinda News Bureau, April 17, 2006, 10:55 IST
Hold your breadth Mumbaikars! A new Mumbai is on the horizon as business tycoon Mukesh Ambani is planning to create India's first 21st century megapolis.
The city will not only have its own dedicated airport and a rapid transit sea-link connecting it with Mumbai, but also living conditions on par with the swankiest and the most sophisticated cities of the world.
Work on Navi Mumbai, one-third the size of existing Mumbai, will begin in September this year and take a decade or so in completion.
Mukesh's Reliance Group and the Maharashtra government (through PSUs) are out to create two sprawling special economic zones (SEZs) across 14,000 hectares in Navi Mumbai and Maha Mumbai.
This project is the country's most ambitious infrastructure project to date. In a few years from now, the farmlands will begin to give way to a soaring skyline with hi-tech buildings, interspersed with amusement parks, shopping malls and an 18-hole international golf course.
Plans are underway for an airport that will be in the SEZs, connected to Jawaharlal Nehru Port with a high-speed railway.
A gems and jewellery hub around Ulwe is also planned to facilitate the rapid export of both people and products.
"Our aim is to create an SEZ which is world standard and will be able to rival global locations like Dubai's Jebel Ali, or Malaysia's Bandar Nusajaya Industrial Park, or even SEZs in China," said Ajit Warty, director with the Mumbai Integrated SEZ, which is handling the Maha Mumbai SEZ project.
The mission is to create an international financial services centre where global banks, insurance companies and merchant banks can function smoothly.
The new city will house over a million people, almost the same number as currently live in Navi Mumbai.
Ambani's plan for Mumbai seems good, but it faces big challenge when it comes to investment and finances for implementing it all. "In most countries, SEZs have been built by governments and have been focused in one area, like manufacturing in China. The Indian model is different; it is built on private-public participation," clears Vivek Mehra, executive director, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
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