In a development that will provide impetus to development of 150 km-long metro network in the city, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Transport for london (Tfl) for exchange of information and personnel for transfer of latest requisite technology.
On a day when the visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron exhorted UK companies to help India in setting up a development corridor between Mumbai and Bengaluru, the Tfl inked an MoU with MMRDA in the presence of the CEOs from his country and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for creation of a framework of co-operation for Metro development and operation in Mumbai.
Inked by MMRDA’s Metropolitan Commissioner Rahul Asthana and Tfl’s Director, Capital Programmes David Waboso, the MoU is expected to come in handy for the MMRDA in the implementation and operationalisation of its plans of 150 km long metro network in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
This was one of the MoUs signed by a high-level business delegation accompanying Cameron during his visit to the city.
Addressing the British delegation, Chavan said that UK business community’s participation in mega infrastructure initiatives in Maharashtra, particularly in the MMR, would definitely encourage his government in taking more such initiatives for Mumbai’s development.
Chavan said that his government’s vision was to transform Mumbai into a world class metropolis with globally comparable infrastructure and quality of life. He said that while th stat government had prepared transport and business plans to achieve its objective for Mumbai, an estimated US$ 40 billion investment in transport and civic infrastructure would be needed for the same.
Having viewed a film “Magnetic Maharashtra” screened on the occasion, the UK delegation expressed its keen interest in development of infrastructure in India in
general and Maharashtra in particular.
Dwelling on the achievements of his organisation, Waboso said that Tfl was one of the leading world integrated transport authorities and operated buses, trams, light rail, heavy rail, taxis, river boats, streets, congestion charge for the Greater london area. The Tfl also operated london Underground Metro which was world’s oldest and second largest service in terms of kilometres.
Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister said he wanted UK companies to help India develop new cities and districts along a 600 mile (equivalent of 1,000 km) corridor between Mumbai and Bangalore, capable of generating investment projects worth up to $25 billion.
“With me I’ve got architects, planners and finance experts who can work out the complete solution. It would unleash India’s potential along the 1,000 km corridor from Mumbai to Bangalore, transforming lives and putting British businesses in prime position to secure valuable commercial deals,” Cameron said, while interacting with the staff of Hindustan Unilever, the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch FMCG major Unilever.
Cameron, who is on a 3-day visit to India with the largest trade delegation taken abroad by a British PM to date, said he was all for UK firms working with both the Indian and British governments to develop nine districts to link Mumbai, India’s financial capital with Bangalore, its tech hub.
Cameron said India should open up its markets to allow foreign direct investment in hitherto closed sectors.
Sharing Cameron’s enthusiasm about the Mumbai-Bengaluru corridor project, his office forecast that 5.8 percent of India’s population growth would be in this corridor, thus contributing 11.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product growth by 2020.
Cameron’s office said British and Indian officials had been working with business representatives from the two countries on the Mumbai-Bangalore project since last year and had produced an initial assessment of its scale and potential. Accordingly, the first phase of the project would involve investment in physical infrastructure, such as transport networks, telecommunications and power generation.
