Third Mumbai and Fourth Mumbai will change the face of India’s financial capital

While Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban is known as the financial capital of Mumbai, the satellite township of Navi Mumbai along the Thane-Raigad belt was developed as a sort of Second Mumbai with an aim to decongest the city.

Mumbai: The upcoming Third Mumbai and Fourth Mumbai is set to transform Mumbai and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the financial capital of India.

The MMR comprises twin city-districts of Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban and large areas of neighbouring areas of Palghar, Thane and Raigad.

The MMR is spread across 6,328 sq km and home to over two crore people -- and the Maharashtra government and NITI Aayog wants to become a US $1.5 trillion economy reshaping Maharashtra’s economic landscape and transform it as a global economic hub.

“Mumbai is on track to become a leading global financial hub. As we develop the Third Mumbai, we are also planning for the Fourth Mumbai,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

While Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban is known as the financial capital of Mumbai, the satellite township of Navi Mumbai along the Thane-Raigad belt was developed as a sort of Second Mumbai with an aim to decongest Mumbai.

The Third Mumbai is coming up around the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) in what is known as Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) in the Raigad district.

The City and Industrial Development of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO) has accelerated the process of development of NAINA. The Third Mumbai would be spread across 323.44 sq km, which would have 124 villages -- 80 from the NAINA, 33 from Khopta New Town Notified Area (KNTNA), two from Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Plan (MMRP) and nine from Raigad Regional Plan (RRP).

The Third Mumbai would be connected to the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MRHL) or Atal Setu and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

The Fourth Mumbai is coming up along the Vadhawan Port and another international airport in the Palghar district.

The Vadhavan Port in Palghar, a Greenfield airport, will be three times bigger than the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Nhava Sheva in Raigad, which is the premier container handling port in India accounting for around 50% of the total containerised cargo volume, across the major ports of India.

Vadhavan (also spelled Wadhawan) in Palghar district is located some 140 km away from downtown Mumbai along the Maharashtra-Gujarat boundary.

The total project cost, including the land acquisition component, is Rs 76,220 crore.

The project will be constructed by Vadhavan Port Project Ltd (VPPL), an SPV formed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) with a shareholding of 74% and 26%, respectively, official sources said.

This will include development of core infrastructure, terminals and other commercial infrastructure in public-private partnerships (PPP) mode.

On the other hand, the state government-run Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has commenced a pre-feasibility study for the development of a Greenfield airport around the Vadhavan area of Palghar.

Speaking about the Third Mumbai, Fadnavis said: “Plans are in place to develop a city three times larger than existing ones in this corridor, with various theme-based zones, including Edu-City with 10 world-class universities Sports City Medicine City, Knowledge City, Innovation City. A state-of-the-art Cyber Security Center is also planned, which will adopt an integrated approach to combating cybercrime.”

About the Fourth Mumbai, the CM added: “The concept of Fourth Mumbai is centred around Vadhavan Port, where India’s largest port and a new airport will be developed. Plans are afoot to extend the bullet train and coastal road to Vadhavan will turn the region into a major urban centre.”

To ensure connectivity within the MMR, a lot of connectors, arterial roads, flyovers and metro lines are being planned besides bridges and waterways.