The NITI Aayog presented a strategic roadmap to the Maharashtra government on Thursday, outlining a plan to boost the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) from its current $140 billion economy to $300 billion by 2030.
During a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam detailed the vision for MMR’s economic growth. He emphasized the importance of promoting MMR as a global services hub, enhancing affordable housing and slum rehabilitation, expanding tourism, and developing port-proximate integrated manufacturing and logistics hubs.
Subrahmanyam highlighted several key areas to achieve this target:
Global Services Hub: Leveraging existing business districts such as Wadala and BKC, and developing Navi Mumbai Aerocity into a global aviation city.
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Affordable Housing and Slum Rehabilitation: Creating new housing stocks by rehabilitating 2.2 million slums and building around 1 million affordable homes for low and middle-income groups.
Tourism Development: Establishing themed tourism hubs in Gorai, Madh, Alibaug, and planning a masterplan for a 300 km coastline.
Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics: Developing the Kharbav integrated logistics cluster and circular economy parks, as well as promoting electronic manufacturing and white goods assembly in Khalapur-Panvel.
Port Development: Utilizing the upcoming Rs 76,000 crore Vadhavan port for green hydrogen, steel, chemicals, and textiles industries.
GDP Growth
NITI Aayog has projected that the state could attract private investments of $125-135 billion and achieve an incremental GDP growth of $130-150 billion. Additionally, the Maharashtra government would need to invest around Rs 50,000 crore over the next 5-6 years to meet this ambitious goal.
“The MMR, currently a $140 billion economy covering five districts and nine municipal corporations with a population of 25.8 million, is already on a positive growth trajectory thanks to $50 billion in ongoing infrastructure investments,” Subrahmanyam said. “Our goal is to transform MMR into a $300 billion economy by 2030 and a $1.5 trillion economy by 2047.”
The NITI Aayog’s proposal includes recommendations for new policies in services, tourism, affordable housing, and transport-oriented development. It also calls for a comprehensive investment promotion strategy, streamlined urban planning policies, a women-inclusivity blueprint, and a Green MMR policy.
Moreover, in response, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde affirmed the government’s commitment to affordable housing projects, the development of a data center in Navi Mumbai, and the completion of the Alibaug Multimodal Corridor. Recently, the state government has approved projects worth Rs 80,000 crore and is intensifying efforts to boost tourism along the 720 km coastline.
