Maharashtra to see more Davos pacts this year, great interest in Mumbai too: Fadnavis

Fresh from a big victory in Mumbai municipal polls, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the 'Third Mumbai' being built would get huge investment commitments here, and the overall figure for the state will exceed last year's record.

Maharashtra had signed several Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth nearly Rs 16 lakh crore at Davos last year.

Speaking after inaugurating the Maharashtra pavilion here on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Fadnavis said Maharashtra is getting a very good response and that he feels there will be more MoUs this time, involving higher investment commitments, across diverse sectors.

''All types of investments are coming, whether it is manufacturing, data centers, or infrastructure. And I think that we have had some discussions with people, and some discussions will also happen here, and then maybe our discussions will be finalized here, and later we will do it after going to India,'' he added.

''We are a gateway for Indian businesses to meet their foreign counterparts,'' he said while also extending his best wishes for other Indian states seeking investments here.

Asked about his victory in BMC polls and whether there would be any special MOUs for Mumbai here, the chief minister said, ''They are definitely going to happen and especially the 'Third Mumbai' that we are building.'' For this 'Third Mumbai', we are seeing large-scale investment, because today, especially international funds, are looking at India as a very important destination for investment, he said.

''Because the infrastructure we have prepared, and especially the airport of New Mumbai, our Atal Setu, and the rest of the infrastructure that has been prepared, is creating a very large urban agglomeration,'' he said.

''I mean, if I say, an entire area of about 675 square kilometers has opened up, where we want to settle a new Mumbai, in a way. There we are preparing EduCity, there we are preparing MediCity, we are preparing Sports City, there we are preparing Innovation City, there we are preparing GCC city.

''So I feel that such a theme-based approach of ours is big, in which a lot of investment will also come and very good, high-paid jobs will also be created there,'' he added.

He welcomed a healthy competition among states for investment.

''Because ultimately, investment should come to India only, this is our first goal, and our interest is Maharashtra, so we will try to ensure that it comes to Maharashtra,'' he said.

On tariffs, he said it is a separate issue, on which we are also helping some industries that have problems.

''But overall, I don't believe that it has such an effect that investment is completely stalled,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)