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Business News/ Industry / MMRDA plans to expand links to suburbs
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MMRDA plans to expand links to suburbs

MMRDA plans to build and expand metro-rail links and roads to distant suburbs over the next 7-8 years

MMRDA will undertake a project to build a 130 km multi-modal corridor connecting Virar and Alibaug through rail, metro and freeways, at a cost of over Rs20,000 crore. Photo: SKumar/MintPremium
MMRDA will undertake a project to build a 130 km multi-modal corridor connecting Virar and Alibaug through rail, metro and freeways, at a cost of over Rs20,000 crore. Photo: SKumar/Mint

Mumbai: Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the government body responsible for infrastructure development in the region, may spend as much as 1 trillion to build and expand metro-rail links and roads to distant suburbs over the next 7-8 years.

MMRDA plans to develop multi-modal transport infrastructure corridor between Virar in the North and Alibaug in the South.

“Earlier MMRDA’s focus was largely on infrastructure projects in Mumbai but now we are making a conscious effort to improve, not only the connectivity of the rest of MMR with Mumbai but also within MMR," U.P.S. Madan, metropolitan commissioner and chief of MMRDA, said in an interview.

The ambitious plan to expand Mumbai’s transport links with its distant suburbs and its satellite towns is aimed at reducing the pressure on Mumbai city’s overburdened infrastructure that is home to the nation’s biggest slum and is India’s most expensive real estate market.

The population of MMR is likely to reach 33 million by 2030, according to a McKinsey Global Institute’s 2010 report. The population of MMR was 23 million, according to 2011 census. In comparison, Mumbai’s population stood at 12 million.

Among the projects that are at various stages of planning, is the metro line between Wadala in central Mumbai to Kasarwadwali in Thane, Mumbai’s biggest satellite town with a population of around three million people. The total cost of this 30 km metro line, most of which will be underground, is expected to be around 30,000 crore.

MMRDA will also undertake a project to build a 130 km multi-modal corridor connecting Virar and Alibaug through rail, metro and freeways, at a cost of over 20,000 crore.

Besides this, MMRDA will also undertake the third phase of Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase (MUTP) III in association with Indian Railways, which will add to the existing suburban railway network. MMRDA is also working on the ambitious Mumbai Trans Harbour Sea Link (MTHL) project, a 22 km long cable stay bridge between Sewari on the island city of Mumbai and Nhava-Sheva. The 11,000 crore project, which could become the second longest sea link in the world after the 42 km link between Qingdao to Huangdao in China, has failed to draw any bidders. After three failed bidding attempts under the so-called build operate and transfer (BOT) model, the MMRDA has now decided to build the project under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction mode. The MMRDA will finance project through its own funds and also take loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and will collect the toll on the project which will help MMRDA to recover cost.

The project is expected to reduce travel time between Mumbai and Panvel in Navi Mumbai from around one hour to 20 minutes.

“Officials of JICA who have given an in principle approval for the loan, visited MMRDA earlier last week and they asked for calibration of our earlier study reports on the project and wants us to see if design of the project needs minor modifications, I think we will complete the process within next two to three months," Madan said.

Subsequently, in early part of next year we can start tendering process and also start actual work in middle of 2015", he added.

According to Pankaj Joshi, executive director of the Urban Research and Design Institute, the expanded focus of the MMRDA is welcome. “If MMRDA is going to focus on entire MMR and not just Mumbai then it is a welcome step because development of entire MMR and not just Mumbai is its mandate," said Joshi. “I believe time is ripe for government to consider development of Mumbai, Pune and Nashik as one single region."

The president of Mumbai unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and legislator Ashish Shelar added that MMRDA’s narrow focus on Mumbai has been a point of concern. “It has been our long-standing criticism that the agency acts as development agency of Mumbai and neglects the rest of MMR but it seems now, some sense is prevailing and we welcome this change of attitude," said Shelar.

So far, the MMRDA has financed most of the infrastructure projects by selling its huge land bank in the Bandra-Kurla Complex and at Wadala and through soft loans and grants from government and multilateral agencies. With the land bank fast depleting, MMRDA is left with just 74 hectares of land. While auctioning of this remaining land can still generate thousands of crores, Madan says that depending on the land bank for funds is not advisable in the long term.

“We are pursuing with state government two proposals, which will offer us permanent stream of revenue," added Madan. One of the suggestions is to allow the MMRDA to offer higher floor space index (FSI-indicates permissible construction on any plot of land) to properties that are touched by the MMRDA’s infrastructure projects. Another option is to authorize the MMRDA to levy an “impact fee" or “betterment charges" on property transactions in areas which benefit from our projects. “The state government is actively considering our request and, if accepted, it will create a perennial source of income for the MMRDA," Madan claimed.

Manish Agarwal, executive director of the infrastructure practice at the consulting firm PwC India said that MMRDA is unable to approach the debt market as they don’t have a regular stream of income, but levying of betterment charges will help MMRDA to raise debt on its own book. “If property prices are going to increase on Nhava-Sheva side because of MTHL, part of it should come back to MMRDA as a tax which will enable MMRDA to finance the new projects," Agarwal added.

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Published: 04 Aug 2014, 10:44 PM IST
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