‘MMRDA set to be Asia’s largest landowner, eyes land bank to drive Third Mumbai’

What is the next step for Third Mumbai?
Of the total 323.44 sq km of Third Mumbai, 104 sq km is land available for development, at an FSI of 2. The rest comprises mangroves and forest areas, which we will not touch. The plan is to attract a range of industries to the area, including semiconductors, data centres, logistics, artificial intelligence, as well as international hubs such as a Swiss hub and a Japan hub. We have already secured interest and investment.

We have now called upon landowners in Third Mumbai to come forward if they are willing to give us their land. The process is entirely online. For those who do not wish to part with their land, there is no compulsion. The process will be gradual. BKC, despite being five decades old, still has 37 out of 165 hectares unsold. We are in no hurry to turn it into a concrete jungle—the growth will be organic. Simultaneously, the first stage of planning the area—the existing land use plan—is being prepared. Preliminary engineering work, such as hydrological studies and soil testing, has begun.

What is the vision the MMRDA is developing for the MMR?
The idea behind developing the entire MMR is to improve quality of life. People will be able to live farther from the main city in larger homes amid open spaces, while seamless connectivity ensures that daily travel is not a problem. This is also the idea behind developing the entire metro network.

What Metro lines will be functional this year?
This year, we aim to operationalise the entire Line 9 (Dahisar East to Mira-Bhayandar). Phases 1 and 2 of Line 4 (Wadala to Kasarvadavali) which run from Cadbury Junction to Gaimukh, are also expected to open. Another stretch of Line 2B (DN Nagar Andheri West to Mandale Mankhurd), between ESIC Nagar and Saraswat, will be commissioned. The first phase of Line 5 (Thane, Bhiwandi, and Kalyan) will also become operational. While efforts are underway to begin Line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar in Andheri to Vikhroli), it is likely to be opened in early 2027, as it depends on the Kanjurmarg depot, though work on pit lines is ongoing. Tunnelling work on Line 7A (Andheri East to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport T2 terminal) has been completed, while other works are still in progress.

Can we expect any other infrastructure project completions this year?
Yes, several projects are in the pipeline. The final stretch of the SCLR extension will be operational before the monsoon. Tunnelling will begin on the second tunnel of the Orange Gate project, and all four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) for the Thane-Borivali twin tunnels will begin excavation. DPRs for Metro Lines 10, 13, and 14 are currently awaiting approval from the Urban Development Department; once approved, the tendering process will begin.

When will the monorail resume operations after stopping in September last year?
The monorail will resume soon, along with the opening of Chembur station on Line 2B. The delay occurred because we decided to obtain safety approvals from the Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) and a retired CMRS officer, which is not typically required for monorails.

Do you think the pod taxi will be successful or turn out like the monorail project?
The pod taxi, while as experimental as the monorail, will be quite different. No funds from MMRDA are being invested in it. Another initiative we are pursuing in BKC is to improve walkability by encouraging offices and buildings to remove compound walls that were built after 26/11 attack. If these walls are removed, pedestrians will have more space instead of being forced onto the roads. However, since permissions were granted earlier, we can only appeal to them to take these walls down.

What is the broader plan for the ‘Pataal Lok’ tunnel network?
The tunnel network has been under development for a long time. The first is the Coastal Road tunnel, followed by the Thane-Borivali twin tunnels, then the Orange Gate to Marine Drive tunnel, the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road tunnel, the Gaimukh tunnel, and finally the BKC tunnel.

Will these tunnels and other infrastructure projects be tolled?
These projects will be funded through various models. Where possible, land monetisation will be used. Tolling is another option, and hybrid models are also being considered. However, the principle is that the user must pay, as MMRDA raises debt to fund these projects and lenders evaluate repayment models before approving loans. Therefore, tolls are likely.

In light of the Mulund incident, how much control does MMRDA have over subcontractors?
MMRDA does not have direct control over subcontractors. In fact, the welder who cut the interlocks on a Metro slab the night before the Mulund incident was employed by a contractor below the subcontractor level.
However, MMRDA has been strictly monitoring contractors and imposing heavy penalties. For instance, in last week’s incident where a crane toppled in BKC during work on Line 2B, we fined contractor J Kumar Rs 1 crore. Few authorities enforce such penalties with this level of consistency.