Maha wants to link JNPT to Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor

The Maharashtra government wants to link the largest container port, JNPT, to the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project and said it would ask the DMIC Development Corporation to align the route of the corridor in the state for this purpose.

"We want JNPT, being a major port, to be connected to the proposed Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor instead of routing (it) from within the busy financial capital as it already has several infrastructure projects on hand," Principal Secretary for Industry A M Khan told PTI.

The government is also considering a plan to develop four towns -- Dhule, Aurangabad, Nashik and Dighi -- which fall within a 150-km radius of the proposed corridor, as integrated mega-towns under the DMIC.

"These towns would have economic activities rather than just industrial units and would also attract international investment," Khan said.

A convention and exhibition centre has been planned at Shendra near Aurangabad. The town was chosen since other projects are being developed here as well, he said.

Engineering and design firm Aecom has been appointed as a consultant to study and identify projects and companies which can make investment in these townships, the official said.

A high-power committee under the Chief Secretary has also been appointed to look into the progress of work. The committee would also help in providing logistics, power and water supply for the project, he said.

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is a mega-infrastructure project passing through six states -- Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh -- covering an overall length of 1,483 km between the political capital and the business capital of the country.