Dubai firm on board to redevelop Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, says state

According to the CM, DP World intends to work with the state government on multi-modal logistics parks in Maharashtra

A Dubai-based group, MBM, will support the long-delayed Dharavi slum redevelopment plan, the Maharashtra government said on Sunday.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is in Dubai to shore up funds for various projects. (HT)

The government has not spelt out the nature of the support and is still working on the modalities.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while in Dubai for the weekend, held discussions regarding the project with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Juma Al Maktoum, the chairman of the MBM Group.

A statement from the CM’s office stated that Al Maktoum expressed his willingness to collaborate with the various urban infrastructure projects.

The MBM Group is a Dubai-based royal family office and investment-holding company that deals in strategic advisory activities as well as social and community development.

Earlier, the government had planned to divide the sprawling slum into five different sectors to make the redevelopment ‘feasible’ for the developers.

The government has now decided to combine all the five sectors into one and have a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

According to the CM, there is another company, DP World, that intends to work with the state government on multi-modal logistics parks in Maharashtra, particularly in Nagpur, for better port connectivity.

Fadnavis also met Thumbay Moideen, the founder-president of the Thumbay Group, which runs a network of healthcare facilities and a medical university in the Gulf.

The CM said Moideen has expressed interest in working as a healthcare partner for projects planned in Maharashtra.