Wadala biz district snippets

The new business district being planned at Wadala will feature swanky gourmet restaurants, art galleries, entertainment centres and nighclubs. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials, who are putting things together for the plan, said it will not be like the other business districts in the city, which have a rather plain look. This swanky district will have a distinct character of its own. MMRDA commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad said that the Wadala hub would be based on the lines of business districts in the US and will also serve as a centre for art and entertainment. “Those who visit the business centre will want to come back. It will be an experience of a lifetime,” said Gaikwad. In May, the MMRDA had auctioned a plot at Wadala for a record Rs 4,050 crore to the Lodha Group. The agency is planning to turn the area next to it into a business district to raise funds for various infrastructure projects in the metropolis. The 4.5-hectare plot earmarked for the interstate bus and truck terminus might be shifted out of the city to make way for the business district. “It is possible to raise a large amount of money which will contribute towards the infrastructure projects in the region,’’ said Gaikwad. The MMRDA has chalked out an ambitious plan to have large road and rail projects in the region. Gaikwad said he had received inputs from a New York-based architectural firm, which said it was willing to plan the new business district on the lines of the ones in the US. MMRDA officials said having a business district that is also an entertainment centre would go down well in Mumbai and give the area a distinctive edge over the other business districts in the city and suburbs which do not have such facilities. The MMRDA had also planned the Bandra-Kurla Complex, but this is a regular business centre without any special facilities for arts and entertainment. Gaikwad pointed out that the area would be connected through the monorail, Metro and also the Eastern Expressway, giving the area great connectivity with the rest of the city.