Mumbai’s finance centre forgotten, Nagpur’s to be launched on Thursday

MUMBAI: Exactly a year after the Maharashtra cabinet approved establishing the International Business & Finance Center in Nagpur, the project will be launched on Thursday in Mumbai, even as the one for Mumbai remains a distant possibility

MUMBAI: Exactly a year after the Maharashtra cabinet approved establishing the International Business & Finance Center in Nagpur, the project will be launched on Thursday in Mumbai, even as the one for Mumbai remains a distant possibility.

The state government will launch the project at the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) Maharashtra’s event titled ‘Real Estate & Infrastructure Investors’ Summit 2026’ or (REIIS 2026).

The objective behind IBFC in Nagpur is to establish a new regional financial hub and decentralise economic growth across the state.

Speaking about the launch of IBFC, Sanjay Meena, Metropolitan Commissioner, Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) said, “New Nagpur IBFC is envisioned as a landmark development that will create a new business and investment destination for Nagpur and Central India. Spread across 1,710 acres, it will offer integrated infrastructure and a complete business ecosystem for corporates, GCCs, startups and financial institutions. As NMRDA, our focus is to develop New Nagpur with quality infrastructure, efficient governance and a strong investment environment, strengthening Nagpur’s position as a major economic destination in Central India.”

According to the plans made public so far, the IBFC will be established on 692.06 hectares in the Godhani and Ladgaon areas near Nagpur. The plan is to create a commercial hub for industrial and service centres in Nagpur.

Estimated to cost ₹6,500 crore, the state government has waived the stamp duty for the project. Of the project cost, ₹3,000 crore is earmarked for land acquisition and the balance ₹3,500 crore is for developing New Nagpur surrounding the IBFC. Housing Urban Development Corporation or HUDCO is providing the line of credit of ₹6,500 crore. National Building Construction Corporation is the project management consultant for the proposed IBFC.

A similar set-up was earlier proposed in Mumbai, but it has been put on back-burner. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) planned an International Finance and Business Centre (IFBC) in Bandra Kurla Complex’s E block and also prepared its concept plan.

About 30 hectares of commercial land was made available for development of IFSC along with another about 20 hectares of green area. A global FSI of 4 was made available for the area. For the proposed project, MMRDA had also appointed CBRE as the consultant to assess stakeholders, prepare the regulatory framework, conduct demand assessment and prepare a feasibility study report.

However, it was put on the back burner because the same land parcel was needed to develop the terminal station for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail or bullet train. After a tug-of-war between the then Mahayuti government in Maharashtra and the union government, 14 acres of land were given to the National High Speed Rail Corporation in 2022, and since then, such a project intended to draw international investments has been derailed.