Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is eagerly looking out for funds to bankroll the ambitious Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Marg project.
After finding it difficult to gather loans locally, he now intends to seek help from South Korea during his visit to the country from September 25. He will also be visiting Singapore to sign MoUs for the Nagpur and the newly proposed Pune airports. Mr Fadnavis’ tour was planned a long while ago but was postponed on a few occasions due to political developments.
However, this pet project of the CM has met with a lot of opposition from farmers over land acquisition. Samruddhi Maha-marg will be 701 km long highway and its initial cost is projected to be around '48,000 crore. The government has chalked out an ambitious plan to raise money by developing 24 new cities along the highway.
“The CM will be visiting South Korea and Sing-apore from September 25. The government will be seeking a loan from a South Korean bank, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, for the Samruddhi Mahamarg. A special purpose vehicle will be created for the project,” said an official from the CMO.
According to sources, only seven to eight banks came forward to extend loans for this project during a meeting on Wednesday attended by the CM. The banks were ready to disburse a '7000 crore loan, but it was not sufficient. “Banks are not ready to lend that kind of money. So, the government presented a revenue model in the meeting,” the official added. After the local banks’ inability to disburse loan, it was decided to check out options from the South Korean bank.
Along with the Samruddhi Mahamarg, the government is also going to seek South Korea’s financial assistance to redevelop the Mhada government colony in Bandra and a newly proposed township in suburban Kalyan-Dombivali area, the official added. The government intends to develop the Nagpur and Pune airports and will be signing MoUs with Singapore’s Changi airport, one of the biggest in the world.
