'Better road connectivity 'magnets' attracting global investors to Maharashtra'

Having signed MoUs worth Rs 136 lakh crore with global investors in just two days here Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said the magnets that have worked in favour of his state include promise of subsidies faster clearances and an impressive road infrastructureHere for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Shinde told PTI in an interview that he has met a host of potential investors in just two days of visit and they have shown keen interest in investing in the state and plan to immediately visit Mumbai to put their plans into actionAsked what Maharashtra can offer better than other Indian states to foreign investors Shinde said the state is committing to offer a lot more than others including by way of subsidies better infrastructure and faster clearancesWhatever they want we are ready to offer and the state government is fully committed to fulfilling all their genuine demands Road connectivity is one of our biggest assets and industry is also getting attracted to our state because of our access control roads Shinde told PTIAccording to experts access control roadways system ensures seamless and fast movement of heavy and fast moving vehicles and also prevents stray animals from coming onto main highwaysAlso Read Indian CEOs top global average on plans to cut operating costsAsked about the new areas of growth as Maharashtra has been an industrialised state for a long time with significant presence of automobiles defence and various other sectors he said there is still a huge potential including in various new areas These include data centres logistics pharmaceuticals and renewable energyThis years WEF Annual Meeting has got several states including Maharashtra Telangana and Tamil Nadu presenting their own investment destination profiles and have got their own pavilions in addition to three separate pavilions set up by the central governmentTalking about what has brought him to Davos Shinde said The World Economic Forum is a very prestigious organisation and this event is attended by people from across the world They present their views here and demonstrate new technologiesDiscussions happen here on varied topics such as environmental issues skill development related matters and employment generation People also get to know about the global economic trends here he addedThe chief minister said the WEF summit is attended by people from manufacturing and services sectors and there are also discussions and exchange of views on how to build infrastructure at a faster and bigger scaleIve also met a lot many people here including those working on skill development infrastructure urban transformation climaterelated issues transportation etc Im happy to tell you that there have been positive discussions with regard to our state for investments in sectors like data centre pharmaceuticals logistics automobiles and renewable energyA huge amount of investment plans have materialised for our state in these sectors amounting to Rs 136 lakh crore In just two days we have signed these many MoUsThis is a big achievement for our government These investment decisions are made only when the investors have got faith in a government and they are convinced about our potential They know we have got skilled manpower good infrastructure land availability and good business atmosphere he saidShinde said his government believes in promoting new industries Ours is a proindustry and prodevelopment government that works for the benefit of the people These MoUs will generate thousands of new jobs he notedAsked how soon these investments would materialise the chief minister said the investors have said they will start the process of implementing their plans immediately and they will be visiting Mumbai soon to put their plans into actionThese 21 MoUs involve companies from varied sectors Shinde saidAsked what is the magnet that is attracting these investors given the state government projecting the state as Magnetic Maharashtra Shinde said the magnet that is working for them is an offer for good infrastructure subsidies singlewindow clearance and the huge economic growth potentialTo fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision to make India a 5 trilliondollar economy Maharashtra is aiming to become a onetrilliondollar economy and that is also helping our state attract investors Our state is a big supporter and contributor to the overall GDP of the country he saidIndia getting G20 presidency is also a matter of great pride for us and our state is always keen to support the prime ministers vision for taking our economy forward the chief minister saidOne of the biggest advantages Maharashtra has is the connectivity Access roads we are building NagpurMumbai Samruddhi Highway we are building those will help people reach their destinations faster Those with faster transportation always get a benefit as people and products can reach their destinations faster he saidOn fasttracking of some longstuck projects he said whatever projects had got delayed in the last 225 years those are being fasttracked ever since the new government has assumed officeThe Dharavi project has been set in motion a big Sea Link line is being cleared and that should be completed within a year benefiting lakhs of people Metro network of over 350 kilometre once completed can see 3040 lakh private vehicles going off the roads and that will help not just in saving commuting time but also bringing down pollution and improving efficiency of people the chief minister saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever