Budget 2018: Mumbai's 'Lifeline' Set To Expand At Rs 40,000 Cr

Though Finance Minister (FM) Arun Jaitley's last full Budget Speech has failed to impress middle-class taxpayers across India, people in Mumbai and Bengaluru cannot help but be 'slightly' pleased. The two cities are among the key beneficiaries of the Budget 2018-19 in terms of new infrastructure development and transport corridors.

Boost to suburban network

Suburban rail network in Mumbai and Bengaluru are set to increase. While the Maximum City will get additional 90-km of track in local area network, a major chunk of Railway Budget has been allocated to the upgrades and improvements in this metropolitan region. Of the total allocation of Rs 148,000 crore for the railways, Rs 40,000 crore alone has been allocated for the development of Mumbai local suburban railway lines.

Apart from this, a suburban network of approximately 160 km at an estimated cost of Rs 17,000 crore is planned to cater to the growth of the Bengaluru and curb traffic woes in India's information technology capital. 

"Initiatives to boost the Mumbai suburban railway network will significantly boost the residential and commercial market in the city," says Ashwin Sheth, CMD, Sheth Group.

Bullet train project

For the bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, India's first high-speed rail project, an Institute will be set up in Gujarat's Vadodara to train manpower required for the project management and administration. The foundation of the project was laid in September 2017, with Japan as the financial and technology partner.

Sea routes

While Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had already put much emphasis on boosting seaports and routes for transfer of goods within Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Jaitley's Budget Speech has clearly proven the seriousness behind Gadkari's claims. Over Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Navi Mumbai, Rs 432 crore to Mumbai Port Trust and Rs 250 crore for the Sagarmala project.

The Sagarmala project is a strategic investment initiative of the Central government entailing setting up of mega ports, modernisation of several dozen more ports, development of 14 plus coastal economic zones and at least 29 coastal economic units, industrial corridors, rail, road and airport linkages with these water ports.

The other side

 While the FM said infrastructure was the core of policy planning, not much emphasis was laid on the expansion of the Metro network. The Centre has kept an outlay of about Rs 14,265 crore for Metro projects across the country in the Budget, a reduction of nearly 20 per cent from the allocation in the previous Budget. It is worth mention here that over 10 cities are witnessing Metro development currently.

The allocation for Metro projects for 2017-18 was Rs 17,810 crore and for expansion into NCR areas, the DMRC was granted Rs 150 crore.