UAE to invest in Maharashtra infra projects

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, now on a trip to the Middle East, USA and Canada to attract foreign investments into the state, has managed investment commitments in ports, infrastructure and urban housing -- including slum redevelopments projects -- from the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) key decision makers and business leaders.

A communication on the CM's visit said Devendra Fadnavis and the Indian Ambassador to UAE, Navdeep Suri, discussed investment opportunities in Maharashtra for Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), UAE's sovereign wealth fund with US $850 billion in assets. ADIA is committed to invest US$ 75 billion in India through the National Investment and Infrastructure fund and has partnered with HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank in Mumbai to invest in some of the identified areas like affordable housing sector. Fadnavis also held discussions with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairman of MBM Group, to attract the royal sovereign fund to invest in Maharashtra's infrastructure projects like the Mumbai Nagpur Super Communication Expressway and the Slum Rehabilitation and Renewal project in Dharavi.

Dubai-based DP World, one of the leading global operators of marine and inland terminals, has agreed to invest in logistics parks in Nagpur and develop logistics hubs along the transport corridor from JNPT to the interiors by nursing dry ports of Wardha, Jalna, Nasik and Sangli. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DP World, has agreed to invest with MSRDC and Govt. of Maharashtra's SPV to develop logistics parks in Maharashtra using ADIA funding. The park will help ease congestion at Jawarharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), one of the busiest ports in the country. DP World, which operates two terminals at JNPT, had earlier committed to invest up to $3 billion in ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India.

The Chief Minister also signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the Thumbay Group, a UAE based diversified business conglomerate with interests in education and healthcare. Fadnavis will travel to Canada and the United States where he will interact with key business leaders and visit institutions to attract investments in infrastructure and information technology,  said the communication.

Maharashtra had signed 4,106 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) involving an investment of more than Rs 12.10 lakh croren during the three-day Magnetic Maharashtra global investors' summit in February.