MMR to get 7 biz centres, to become $1.5-trillion growth hub

State govt’s objective is to increase MMR’s GDP from ₹140 billion to ₹1.5 trillion by 2047, says finance minister Ajit Pawar

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will be developed as a growth hub, with seven international business centres to be developed in the region. “The objective is to increase the size of the economy of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, from the current $140 billion to $300 billion by 2030, and to $1.5 trillion by 2047,’’ said state finance minister Ajit Pawar while announcing the budget in the assembly on Monday.

MMR to get 7 biz centres, to become $1.5-trillion growth hub

The MMR, a huge focus area in the state’s budget for FY2025-26, will see several mega-infrastructure projects. Pawar announced a new elevated road connecting Thane, Kalyan, Dombivali and other areas to the Navi Mumbai International Airport. He also said the Vadhavan port in Palghar would be linked to the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train would be linked to the Vadhavan port and Palghar airport.

In his budget speech, Pawar said the seven business centres in MMR would be developed in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, Kurla-Worli, Wadala, Goregaon, Navi Mumbai, Kharghar and Virar-Boisar. However, no financial provisions were made in the budget for these business centres. The state also plans to connect these centres with a network of metros and the Coastal Road.

Further, an innovation city will be set up on 250 acres in Navi Mumbai to provide employment opportunities to the youth, he said.

Pawar announced that the Navi Mumbai airport would start domestic flights from April as 85% of its work is completed. He also mentioned the proposed metro link from the Mumbai airport to the Navi Mumbai airport. CIDCO has been asked to prepare a detailed project report on this metro corridor, which will be partly underground.

Meanwhile, the Vadhavan port will begin operations in 2030, said Pawar. The port will be linked with Mumbai’s third airport proposed in its vicinity. Apart from Vadhavan, the state has signed an MoU with a private company to develop a port at Murbe in Palghar district, worth ₹4,259 crore, said Pawar in his speech.

He said 64.4km of metro lines, including 41.2km in Mumbai and 23.2km in Pune, will be built in the next financial year.

The budget speech also mentioned the coastal highway in Thane, from Balkum to Gaimukh, to be built at an estimated cost of ₹3,364 crore. Covering a distance of 13.45km, it will be completed in 2028. Pawar claimed the Worli-Sewri connector would be complete by March 2026.

The much-delayed, 14-km-long Bandra-Versova sealink will be completed by May 2028, Pawar said. To provide better connectivity to the Vadhavan port, an Uttan-Virar sealink was also announced by Pawar, at a cost of ₹87, 427 crore.

Pawar said the state’s ‘Logistic Policy 2024’ has been announced, under which dedicated logistics infrastructure will be developed on more than 10,000 acres. This would create 5 lakh direct and indirect jobs.

Pawar also said that the final 76-km-long stretch of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, from Igatpuri to Amane, will soon be open to traffic. Agro-logistics hubs will be developed along this highway, featuring facilities such as cold storage, grading, packing and export handling centres. This will primarily benefit farmers from Vidarbha, Marathwada and Nashik.

The budget speech mentioned the controversial jetty proposed to be built between the Gateway of India and Radio Club. “Work on a well-equipped jetty worth ₹229.27 crore is in progress at Radio Club near the Gateway in Mumbai, for passenger transportation,’’ said Pawar.

The state has also sanctioned a scheme to replace the wooden launches that ply from the Gateway of India in Mumbai to Elephanta, JNPA, Uran, Mandwa and other places along the Raigad coast.

Industrialists have repeatedly asked for a better airport network. Pawar announced that the Maharashtra Airport Development Company would soon complete night-landing facilities at Shirdi airport, which caters to over 20 flights a day. He added that work on the Belora airport in Amravati district in Vidarbha is complete and flights will start from March 31.