Page 47 - CV April-May 2019 issue

'MAHA'

Highway Boom

Maharashtra came first in terms of investments in infrastructure in the near future and, to meet it, the State government is expediting
projects, especially in the transportation sector, that includes road, urban projects such as metro rail, monorail, airports, water and
rail and port, NITI Aayog revealed in a 2017 report. Out of total sanitation. Over the past few years, the State has undertaken several
investments in infra projects worth 50.58 lakh crore, the State ₹ massive projects, including metro rail corridors worth 1.4 lakh crore ₹
obtained 5.97 lakh crore.₹ in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune. Several ambitious
transportation projects, including the 46,000-crore Nagpur-Mumbai ₹
NITI Aayog's report is based on investments made till April 30, 2017, Expressway, 15,000-crore Coastal Road and proposed Mumbai ₹
and work orders in the infrastructure sector, which means actual Trans Harbour Link and the 16,000-crore Navi Mumbai International ₹
investments. The report said Maharashtra, with 1,097 infrastructure Airport, are at various stages of development.
projects under way, was ahead of all the other States with an over 11
per cent share in total expenditure in infrastructure projects. According to the M Visvesvaraya Industrial Research and
Development Centre's report, the State government's initiative to
The State's experience in implementing projects under the private- build a 701-km, eight-lane expressway connecting Mumbai to Nagpur
public partnership (PPP) model has also been noticed by the Centre. that will pass through 10 districts and 390 villages will support the
NITI Aayog is now looking to replicate it nationwide. growing vehicular traffic and significantly boost the rural economy.

The Maharashtra government is aiming to grow its economy to $1 Enhancing rural infrastructure by drawing it into a bigger economy
trillion by 2025 from the present $400 billion, Chief Minister Devendra through economic corridors is one of the major aims of the project, as
Fadnavis said at a conference organised by the Asian Infrastructure the State's agrarian sector is facing tremendous stress, the report
Investment Bank in Mumbai this week. said. The agriculture sector in Maharashtra is estimated to have
contracted 8 per cent in FY18 after growing 22 per cent in the
The demand for infrastructure, therefore, is set to expand significantly
previous year.

45 / CONSTRUCTION VISION / May June 2019