South Korea to build townships along Mumbai-Nagpur expressway

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will lead a delegation to South Korea, Japan and Singapore, where he is expected to sign a deal with the Korean government for the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway

The Maharashtra government is likely to ink deals for big-ticket infrastructure projects in the state during his three-nation visit in September.

The 706km expressway is touted to change the economic landscape of Maharashtra. (File)

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will lead a delegation to South Korea, Japan and Singapore, where he is expected to sign a deal with the Korean government for the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway project.

Maharashtra has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Korean Land and Housing Corporation, an undertaking of the South Korean government that specialises in land development, town planning and creation of housing stock.

A senior bureaucrat said the KLHC will invest in the development of nodes or ‘agro prosperity centres’. “The Korean government had initially expressed interest in building the expressway, but we do projects through competitive bidding. Then they were keen to build the nodes. We have prepared detailed notes and presentations in Korean, and we are likely to sign a deal that would bring investment for the expressway project as well as others,” the bureaucrat said.

The official said the KLHC will help the government plan all new townships that are to be created along the proposed expressway, and may also take up the development of a couple of nodes by themselves. The 24 new townships are likely to require an investment of Rs12,000 crore.

Apart from the Expressway project, the Korean government plans to invest in smart city projects, which are being implemented in Maharashtra under the Centre’s ‘Smart Cities’ mission, and the revamp of Bandra’s government colony – a 93-acre sprawl of crumbling buildings near the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The 706km expressway is touted to change the economic landscape of Maharashtra. Nodes are planned to give a boost to agro-based industries and generate employment. The nodes along the expressway are chiefly being planned as agro-based centres with processing plants and cold storage facilities that would allow farmers in the hinterland access to markets.