MUMBAI: With the land bank in BKC now fully sold, the MMRDA is set to initiate the auction of plots in Wadala, the city’s upcoming third central business district (CBD), spanning 156 hectares.
MMRDA Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee informed TOI that the auction process will kick off within the next two months. “Wadala’s development has been incorporated into the economic master plan jointly created by Niti Aayog and MMRDA. MMRDA is proceeding with the development of Wadala, expected to commence in the next two to three months,” he stated.
To sustain the upward trend in real estate prices, MMRDA is motivated by recent investments, such as Sumitomo’s acquisition of a 3-acre plot in BKC for Rs 2,238 crore earlier this June.
Previously slated as a truck terminal, MMRDA is currently negotiating relocation plans with the Bombay Goods Transport Association (BGTA). “Discussions regarding the truck terminal’s relocation began in 2018, but progress has been slow. There are numerous transport offices that cannot be shut down even temporarily. We’ve indicated our preference for relocation to this site due to ample open space. However, Phase 2 of the truck terminal has yet to be executed,” revealed Abhishek Gupta, vice-president of BGTA.
In 2018, the state government opted to revamp Wadala into a mixed-use CBD with a focus on transit-oriented development. This proposed CBD is strategically located between the Eastern Freeway and Atal Setu, providing connectivity to Thane and Navi Mumbai. Accessibility is enhanced via the harbour railway line, monorail, and the future Metro-4 (Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavli).
Presently, MMRDA’s largest infrastructure venture is the Rs 1 lakh-crore Metro line network. Overall, the agency has earmarked Rs 3 lakh-crore for various infrastructure initiatives. In 2022, the state government authorized a loan of Rs 60,000 crore for these developments.
The BKC land bank has been MMRDA’s most valuable asset, leveraged over time to fund various infrastructure projects. Since its inception in the mid-1980s, BKC has seen the rise of over 300 buildings, transforming the area from marshland into a significant commercial hub aimed at alleviating congestion in the southern part of the island city, particularly around Nariman Point, the city’s first CBD. All eyes will now turn to whether Wadala’s emergence will draw businesses back to the island city or steer them toward the anticipated Mumbai 3 across the trans-harbour link.
