Mukesh Ambani, the eagle forte of India’s largest private sector enterprise –Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) – may be facing a bump in the road to his dream project realization, but this dynamic one is optimistic that his dream will be released soon; even if it has to switch locations.
MahaMumbai Special Economic Zone (MSEZ), a dream venture for this visionary, is a project of mammoth proportions with great potential for tremendous end results. MSEZ would have been a signature project for Maharashtra; a state that hasn’t seen projects of this degree for many years now. The development of the special economic zone in the Raigad district, a multi-product development unit, is facing termination due to bouts of some protests, but this has not hampered the dreams of Mukesh Ambani and his right hand associate Anand Jain- the duo who conceived this brainchild with immense aspirations.
The project was initially approved in the year 2005. The SEZ was to be built between the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport and Pen towards the south and Uran towards the west. Mukesh Ambani and Anand Jain had projected an investment of Rs 35,000 crore over a period of 10 to 12 years for this great leap of faith, that could have transformed not only the district’s economic stand, but could have acted as a catalyst of major growth that Maharashtra is trying to attain for some years now. Even as the state tries to follow the footsteps of ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ enterprise, this mammoth project could have been the first step to the fore.
The export potential of the entire project was calculated at around Rs 75,000 crore with 20 lakh people directly or indirectly employed. Some sources said the project could have had the potential to wipe out 20% of Maharashtra’s unemployment woes.
Nevertheless, even as the state decided to scrap this colossal project in the name of incursion, both Ambani and Jain are buoyant and positive in taking their hobbyhorse to new turfs.
Mukesh Ambani has planned an SEZ near Gurgaon and Jhajjar, that some have billed as the country’s largest. The ongoing project in Navi Mumbai is taking a magnanimous course to ascertain that the twin city and the state are reaping the benefits of development that Reliance will foster in time to come.