Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) The Maharashtra Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Wednesday approved the establishment of International Business and Financial Centre (IBFC) under 'New Nagpur' on 692.06 hectares in Godhani, Ladgaon in Hingna taluka under Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

The project cost is estimated at Rs 6,500 crore, comprising Rs 3,000 crore for land acquisition for the project and Rs 3,500 crore for developing New Nagpur on this site. For this project, a loan of Rs 6,500 crore will be raised from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO), and a government guarantee has been approved for this loan.

The project will be important in terms of developing the city as a ' commercial hub ' by creating industrial and service centres in the Nagpur metropolitan area that can attract knowledge-based industries, startups and corporate offices. Under this project, the infrastructure required for industrial and business centres, smart utility solutions, plug and play, and a single window approval system will be created in an integrated manner.

Due to this, Nagpur city will be known as a smart, green and inclusive corporate city. More than 5 lakh jobs are expected to be created through this, said the government release.

National Building Construction Corporation will be the project management consultant for this project. Since this project has been declared as an ambitious project of the state government, stamp duty has been exempted for the project.

Meanwhile, the cabinet also approved the development of an outer ring road around Nagpur city and four adjacent transport islands (truck and bus terminals) through the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

The cost is estimated at Rs 13,748 crore. Of the total cost, a loan of Rs 4,800 crore will be raised through HUDCO for land acquisition and to provide a state government guarantee for this loan.

The remaining amount required for the project, Rs 8,948 crore, will be made available to the authority as financial assistance through the state government.

An outer ring road of about 148 km in length and 120 m in width will be developed around Nagpur city, connecting all the highways entering Nagpur city, including Amravati National Highway, Hingna State Highway, Samruddhi Highway, Hyderabad National Highway, Umred National Highway, Bhandara National Highway, Bhopal National Highway, Katol National Highway, Jabalpur National Highway, and truck and bus terminals at four places.

This outer ring road will make it possible to divert heavy traffic coming from Samruddhi Highway and other districts to Nagpur and from Nagpur city to Samruddhi Highway from outside the residential areas. This will help in resolving the traffic congestion problems arising in the city, said the government release.

Stamp duty has been exempted for contracts for the Outer Ring Road and Truck and Bus Terminal projects. A detailed project report will be prepared for this project after the feasibility report. Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority will act as the implementing agency for this project.

--IANS

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