And for a Friday after a relaxing long weekend at Alibagh, some thoughts….. some musings…..
The spin-off – multiplier impact of good logistics infrastructure on economic growth is best illustrated by the meteoric rise of Alibagh as a “Getaway” for Mumbaikars, now referred to as the “Goa of Maharashtra”. Alibagh has magnificent forts, endless greenery, lovely beaches and ancient shrines. Lonavala, Karjat and Mahabaleshwar were the only options in the eighties and nineties. Travel and stay was tough and tedious. Today all has changed. The M2M ferries service is outstanding. It’s a RO-RO service. The ship can hold 150 cars in two decks and about 500 passengers in one trip. You drive your car from south Mumbai into the ship. 45 minutes on, you drive out into Alibagh. For us, it’s 90 minutes from Malabar Hill to my son’s holiday home, Inner Circle Alibagh, door to door; presto!!!
Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country and arguably with some of its wealthiest citizenry, is soaking in the huge infra development. Alibagh to Virar, the driving time will be reduced to less than 2 hours as a massive multi modal corridor connecting Palghar, Thane and Raigad districts has been approved. The JNPT port will get linked to the new international Airport in Navi Mumbai. More than 50,000 crores will be the phase wise investment in the project NAINA ( Navi Mumbai Airport Influenced Notified Area ). Once the infra opens by Govt investments, private entrepreneurship will take over creating immense opportunities for Economic growth both in manufacturing and services. This is just one example. Every state is competing to build its infrastructure and attract investments with Investors Summits and offers to Global and Indian Entrepreneurs.
In the changed Geo-politico-social world, India is best positioned to cash in on “China plus One” strategy. Let’s support the India Growth story, the involved way, the professional way, the SEEGOS way.