NEW DELHI: The government is set to kick off preliminary work on Wednesday on an economic corridor between Mumbai and Bangalore, aiming to generate investment of over Rs 3 lakh crore.
The plan is to generate around 12% of the country’s GDP along the 1,000 km corridor between the two commercial towns. Although the details are yet to be worked out, sources said, at least four new cities, each trying to boost manufacturing activity is envisaged. A million homes and 2.5 million jobs are proposed to be created along the corridor.
So far, the Indian and the British governments have agreed to undertake a joint feasibility study. In the next stage, the government will on Wednesday seek bids for developing a perspective plan for the Bengalore Mumbai Economic Corridor Region. The consultant will also suggest a backbone along which the corridor will be built. In case of the eastern and western corridors, the government intends to build cities along dedicated rail lines meant to speed up freight traffic. “In case of Bengalore-Mumbai it can be a road too, but that needs to be decided,” said a source, privy to the discussions.