Gadkari announces projects to come up on Mumbai Port Trust land

Sets up committee to study Mumbai port utilization plan

Noting the need to improve infrastructure in India’s financial hub Mumbai, Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road transport, highways and shipping, on Thursday announced projects to come at 1,800 acres under the Mumbai Port Trust along the eastern shore of the city.

The plan includes building a cruise terminal, waterways projects, a 500-room floating hotel to be anchored off the Raj Bhavan coast, three-to-four floating restaurants, a Ferris wheel on the lines of the London Eye and marinas and jetties to promote intra-city water transport in Mumbai.

“A panel under the former chairperson of Mumbai Port Trust Rani Jadhav will be set up to suggest how we can go about this project.”

He was speaking at the 142nd Foundation Day of the Mumbai Port Trust here on Thursday.

“I have asked the panel to give the report in three months.” The panel will comprise urban planners, landscape artists, transportation experts, director of the J J School of Art and Maharashtra urban development secretary, among others.

Having a market value of Rs 75,000 crore, Gadkari said the Mumbai Port Trust land was a public property.

On receiving the report, the government will float an international competition and award the development of the project on a build, operate and transfer basis, Gadkari said.

He, however, did not specify the capital investment that would go into the project. “First let the report come to us; only then can I talk about investment and how it will be funded. We are ready to help the Maharashtra government in financing the project, if needed,” he added.

The road transport ministry will also commission a study to understand, analyse and suggest remedies to the traffic bottlenecks in Mumbai city. The report will then be handed over to the Maharashtra government for implementation.

“A similar study was carried out in Nagpur, which contributed towards the management of traffic and also reduced accident rates,” said Gadkari.

He also handed over a communication granting sea-space at Girgaum Chowpatty to the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, which will be used to start its proposed sea-plane services.