Securitisation of Samruddhi Expressway's rights will fetch Maha ₹50k cr: Fadnavis

Maharashtra will earn Rs 50,000 crore from the securitisation of rights of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway and it will ease the financial burden on the state over its construction, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday.

The 701-kilometre six-lane corridor, which is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 55,000 crore, passes through 10 districts and the 520-kilometre Nagpur to Shirdi stretch was inaugurated in December last year.

Also read: PM Modi inaugurates first phase of Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway

Speaking at an event organised by Marathi news channel Mumbai Tak, Fadnavis said, “By securitising the rights, which loosely can be described as sale, Maharashtra government will earn Rs 50,000 crore. With this, the state will be free in the next two years from the debt of constructing the Samruddhi Expressway.” It will take off the state’s financial burden and the money raised through securitisation can be used for other works, he added.

Asked about Maharashtra lagging behind some other states in attracting FDI, the senior BJP leader said, “During my tenure as chief minister (between 2014-19), the FDI attracted by Maharashtra was much higher than the following states (combined).”

Some states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana did not fulfil all the promises they made to the industries while inviting them to invest, which was something Maharashtra never did, he said. The state did lose out to Bengaluru for some time in attracting startups and financial technology firms, he added.

Also read: Maharashtra: 6 dead in car accident on Samruddhi Expressway in Buldhana

“However, once the trans-harbour bridge (MTHL) connecting Mumbai with Navi Mumbai and the (missing link of the) Mumbai-Pune Expressway commences, there will be a third Mumbai that will come up in that region. The trans-harbour link and the new airport in Navi Mumbai will offer a good ecosystem to companies,” he asserted. Maharashtra alone has India’s 65 per cent data centre capacity, he said, adding data is now bigger than oil.

Fadnavis said Maharashtra Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was around Rs 34 lakh crore and was heading towards the Rs 40 lakh crore mark. The state’s debt is close to Rs 6 lakh crore, which is well within stipulated limits, he added.

(With Agency inputs)