MumbaiMumbai

66 urbanDNA · Issue 5 / February 2015

S

The fifth most populous metropolis in the world is addressing mobility and public transportation-related challenges effectively and is poised to emerge as a well-planned, modern city with the execution of several ongoing projects.

Text: Swati Prasad Photos: Atul Loke

oftware engineer Prerna Waghmare (33) lives in Sanpada (Navi Mumbai) and commutes

daily to her office in Andheri East, 23 kilometers away. Part of her jour-ney involves a ride on the new Metro (commissioned in June 2014). This 12-station, 11.4-kilometer corridor saves Waghmare 30 minutes each way, even as she continues to cov-er half the distance in an auto-rick-shaw. The toughest part of her jour-ney – which takes her from east to west of Mumbai – is taken care of by the Metro.“The ride is very comfortable. And most of the time, I get a seat,” says Waghmare, one of 200,000 com-muters who use the Metro each day. However, this story is not just about Mumbai Metro, but about the doz-en-odd new projects commissioned in the last ten years that have made Mumbai a much better city to live

in. These include the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, the Eastern Freeway, the Monorail, the new Terminal 2 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), new eco-friendly buses, skywalks, rail over bridges, flyovers, and intelligent traffic sig-naling (see info box, p. 73). “Mumbai is one of the few cities in India that have a comprehen-sive Master Plan in place for both 2030 and 2050. In terms of plan-ning, I think Mumbai has done quite well,” says Shirish Sankhe, Director at McKinsey India. Back in 2003, the consultancy suggested an eight-pronged approach to transform Mumbai into a “World-Class City”.Mumbai may not be a “world-class city” yet, but it is certainly heading there. “About ten years ago, I lived in Navy Nagar (Colaba, South Mumbai),” says Rama Thoopal (38), an adver-tising consultant and wife of a navy

Mumbai

u

Mumbai

68 urbanDNA · Issue 5 / February 2015 urbanDNA · Issue 5 / February 2015 69

officer. Her husband was posted back to Mumbai in 2012. But this time, they got navy accommodation in Mankhurd (in the eastern suburbs). “So much has changed in Mumbai. Despite living in a suburb, we can reach the airport in 20 minutes, thanks to the Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR). With the Eastern Freeway, getting to South Mumbai is also a lot easier,” says Thoopal.“Mumbai is a beautiful city with a coastline on both sides. It definitely holds a lot of potential,” says Sankhe. Sanjay Paranjpe, the Siemens City Account Manager for Mumbai, con-curs: “There are several ambitious projects in the pipeline. With the exe-cution of these projects, Mumbai will emerge as an outstanding city, with state-of-the-art infrastructure.”

Coping with Lack of Space This vibrant metropolis, which is also the financial, commercial, and en-tertainment capital of India, is an is-land city with severe geographi-cal constraints. Scarcity of land led to a surge of satellite towns (such as Greater Mumbai, Thane, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivili) and suburbs that start with Bandra and extend up to Vasai-Virar. Together, these areas make up the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). During the development of the island city (also known as South Mumbai) in earlier decades, much of the workforce traveled toward it from the suburbs and satellite towns. Transportation corridors in Mumbai have therefore evolved as longitudinal routes head-ing to South Mumbai from the north-ern and eastern suburbs. Very few east-west links were developed.Over the last two decades, new office complexes have come up in areas such as the Bandra-Kurla Complex, Malad (West), Andheri, Navi Mumbai, and Powai. But connectivity to these areas remained a challenge. Meanwhile, the population of great-er Mumbai increased from 12.5 mil-lion in 1991 to nearly 21 million in 2011. This population growth led to a considerable drop in the quality of life. A McKinsey report titled “Vision

The biggest space constraint was per-haps faced by the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, which required modernization. CSIA has been referred to as the most difficult airport to de-velop, being located in a confined area with no space to expand. Its area per passenger is one of the smallest in the world, yet it manages about 19 percent of the country’s air passenger traffic and about 29 percent of the country’s air cargo traffic. The critical task was to develop a state-of-the-art terminal – literally on top of the existing airport – and in parallel, rebuild the airport’s unique intersect-ing runways, with minimal inconve-nience for passengers or flight inter-ruptions. Terminal 2, inaugurated in January 2014, is considered one of the most iconic developments in re-cent times. The four-level internation-al terminal, with an area of more than 439,000 square meters, will ultimately accommodate 40 million passengers per year.

Enhancing Public TransportAny modernization plan for Mumbai must include the suburban trains, which ferry 7.6 million passengers ev-ery day. With the increase in the city’s population, the suburban trains – the lifelines of Mumbai – were getting cramped. During rush hours, instead of the permitted capacity of 1,700 pas-sengers, more than 5,000 people rode on one train.

Mumbai: Transforming Mumbai into a World-Class City,” published in September 2003, noted: “The quality of life in Mumbai has also worsened and the decline is quite steep. Slums have proliferated and congestion, pol-lution and water problems have sky-rocketed. […] The situation is likely to worsen over the next decade with an expected population increase of over two million.” Clearly, the megalopolis needed bet-ter infrastructure to cope with the ris-ing population. The floods of July 26, 2005 and the terrorist attacks in November 2008 reiterated the mess the city was in. But all that’s changed with the commissioning of new proj-ects. “Our focus is east-west connec-tivity. We want to reduce the number of private vehicles on the roads by en-hancing public transportation,” says Dilip Kawathkar, Deputy Metropoli-tan Commissioner and Joint Project Director (PR) at the Mumbai Metro-politan Region Development Author-ity (MMRDA; a government body re-sponsible for balanced development). This development authority formu-lated the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) to improve the traf-fic and transport situation in the MMR (with assistance from the World Bank). The first phase of the project began in 2007 and is said to be com-plete. MUTP Phase II is being imple-mented, and MUTP Phase III has been approved. u

Per capita GDP (nominal):

US$2,000

Location: West coast, India Capital of Maharashtra

Population (2011):

20,748,395

GDP: US$208 billion

Area:

4,355 km2

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Fact File “Mumbai is one of the few cities in India

with a comprehensive Master Plan for both

2030 and 2050.”Shirish Sankhe, Director, McKinsey India

Top: Software engineer Prerna Waghmare takes

the Mumbai Metro to her workplace in Andheri.

Center and bottom: Suburban trains are the

lifelines of Mumbai.

Mumbai

urbanDNA · Issue 5 / February 2015 71

u

70 urbanDNA · Issue 5 / February 2015

The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corpora-tion (MRVC) initiated a number of rail infrastructure projects under MUTP Phase I and II. Since 2007, the MRVC has inducted 112 new trains with more than 1,200 coaches. The state-of-the-art coaches are built of stainless steel with improved com-fort for commuters. With a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour (as op-posed to 80 in the previous trains), the new commuter trains equipped with Siemens technology (such as the propulsion system, auxiliary equip-ment, and passenger information system) are a lot safer, comfortable, faster, and more eco-friendly.

Clearly, public transport in Mumbai is amongst the most affordable in the world. A research study undertak-en by Credo Business Consulting LLP (commissioned by Siemens), titled “The Mobility Opportunity,” returned a clear verdict: “Transport in Mumbai is the most user-affordable of any city in our study.” Credo’s research project involved 35 commercial cen-ters across the world, including well-established cities (such as London, New York, and Madrid), high-density compact centers (such as Singapore, Beijing, Dubai, and Hong Kong) and emerging cities (such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangkok, and Mexico City).

“Public transportation attracts eco-nomic activity and boosts produc-tivity by improving connectivity and reducing time lost to travel. Undoubtedly, better transport im-proves quality of life,” the Credo report adds.

instance, the Metro is used by over 200,000 people every day. The Eastern Freeway is used by 30,000 vehicles every day, while 50,000 vehicles use the SCLR every day.“The MMRDA is presently implement-ing Phase II of the Monorail project, the Urban Transport Project, the Extended Mumbai Urban Infrastruc-ture Project (which includes bridges, flyovers, rail over bridges, and wid-ening of roads), and will undertake more critical projects soon, such as the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 corridor, the Bandra-Kurla to Chunab-hatti Connector, the Worli-Sewri Ele-vated Connector, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), and the Virar-Alibaug Multi Modal Corridor,” says Kawathkar. Among the biggest of these projects is the MTHL. “People come to Mumbai for business purposes. The MTHL will connect Navi Mumbai to South Mumbai,” says Kawathkar. Today, it takes over two hours to reach South Mumbai from Navi Mumbai. Accord-ing to MMRDA estimates, around 60,000 cars will use the MTHL. But unlike on the Eastern Freeway, a toll will be levied for using the MTHL. “We expect the MTHL to be a big boon for Mumbai,” adds Kawathkar.

Project Execution HurdlesInfrastructure projects can be de-layed due to unforeseen reasons, making project execution quite te-dious. Take the case of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, whose foundation stone was laid back in 1999. The proj-ect was delayed due to several public interest litigations, causing a five-year delay. The project was finally completed in June 2009.The Western Express Highway to the suburbs is packed during peak hours.

Taking a selfie near the Bandra-

Worli Sea Link.

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport

The Credo study “The Mobility Opportunity” investigates ways of boosting economic growth by improving public transport.

At the same time, MMRDA’s new proj-ects – like the Metro, the Monorail, and various road projects – are en-hancing public transportation. These projects are quite successful. For

Mumbai

72 urbanDNA · Issue 5 / February 2015 urbanDNA · Issue 5 / February 2015 73

Illu

stra

tio

n: K

elli

An

der

son

Projects That Have Changed Mumbai

1 Bandra-Worli Sea Link: This INR16 billion (US$260 million) project has reduced travel time between Bandra and Worli during peak hours from 60–90 minutes to 20–30 minutes.

2 Eastern Freeway: Connects P D’Mello Road in South Mum-bai to the Eastern Express Highway at Ghatkopar. Length: 16.8 km; cost: INR14.4 billion (US$230 million). Opened to public in June 2013.

3 Metro Rail Project: The first, 11.4-km long, 12-station Ver-sova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro corridor was commissioned in June 2014 as an east-west commuter link. Travel time from Versova to Ghatkopar cut from 90 to 20 minutes.

4 Monorail Project: A feeder to high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit Systems like suburban and metro services. MMRDA implemented the first Monorail (from Chembur to Wadala) in February 2014 (8.93 km distance).

5 Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and the 6 Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road have improved connectivity between

eastern and western suburbs. SCLR was opened to public in April 2014.

7 The Sahar Elevated Road is a 2 km-long road that takes commuters from the Western Express Highway to the inter- national airport within 5 minutes.

8 Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project involves construc-tion, reconstruction, development, and broadening of vari-ous roads, as well as projects including Eastern Freeway, Sahar Elevated Road, Milan, and Dahisar rail over bridges.

9 Mumbai Urban Transport Project is the largest multi-modal project. Under this project, over 100 new suburban trains as well as 644 low-floor environment-friendly Bri-hanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking buses have been procured together with a digital signaling system.

“The biggest challenge we face is in the acquisition of land for smooth implementation of projects,” says Kawathkar. The second challenge is related to the shifting of utility ser-vices. “There are innumerable ser-vice providers. We need to shift the water pipeline, gas pipeline, tele-phone lines, sewerage, etc. There are a number of agencies involved. Getting approvals and shifting these utilities takes time,” adds Kawathkar.The right projects are being talk-ed about in Mumbai. “But funding and the capacity to execute those projects are huge challenges,” says Sankhe. Take the case of the Mumbai Metro. Mumbai needs ten Metro cor-ridors by 2020. Only one has come up. Executing one corridor at a time is simply not enough to adapt capac-ity to population growth, as Sankhe points out.According to Sankhe, Mumbai needs investments to the tune of around US$40 billion in public transporta-tion: “Mumbai needs a ring road sys-tem that circles the entire city without any traffic signals.” Today, Mumbai has one-fourth of a ring road in place

in the form of the Eastern Freeway, and one-tenth of it in the form of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The city re-quires INR250 billion (US$4 billion) worth of investments in its road net-works alone. The population of MMR is estimat-ed to increase from around 22 mil-lion today to over 30 million by 2030. “The situation will get much worse, unless all the projects are execut-ed in time,” adds Sankhe. The chal-lenges also revolve around funding. “However, funding is something that can be tackled. Both execution and funding are challenges that have to be tackled effectively,” he says. Sankhe thinks that Mumbai requires a different governance and funding framework, like other major cities across the world. “Mumbai does not need multiple agencies. It needs a po-litically empowered mayor who can ensure smooth execution of projects,” says Sankhe.

An Intelligent City in the MakingMost developed cities are also intelli-gent cities. While Mumbai has a long

way to go before it can be either, CSIA has propelled Mumbai into the A-list of National Geographic’s “ smartest cit-ies” across the world – a catalog that includes New York, London, Dubai, and Seoul.Similarly, news reports indicate that by 2017, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai intends to finish installing smart signals at 367 of the busiest junctions in the suburbs. At present, 253 such signals exist in South and Central Mumbai. The sig-nals form a network called Area Traffic Control (ATC) that is centrally man-aged from a control center. ATC cuts waiting time at junctions by chang-ing signal timing depending on traf-fic density. Sensors lying under the surface of the road behind the pedes-trian crossing do the calculations. Worldwide, ATC has been implement-ed in 300 cities. In the aftermath of the 2008 terror attacks, the metropolis plans to im-plement a city surveillance project. About 6,000 closed-circuit televi-sion (CCTV) cameras will be installed across the metro. The CCTV cameras will be monitored remotely, while an emergency number along the lines of the 911 service in the USA will also be set up. Apart from these, Mumbai also boasts a first-of-its-kind smart city project – known as Palava City. This Wi-Fi-enabled planned urban devel-opment is expected to be completed in 2025, and will rely on smart cards for most services such as energy, water, transportation, and public safety. It would span 4,000 acres and cost INR140 billion (US$2.25 bil-lion). “If we are looking at services such as smart metering, electronic tolling, citizen services, city surveil-lance, etc., Mumbai definitely has the potential to emerge as a smart city,” says Sankhe. This would certainly take Mumbai one step closer to be-coming a highly livable city in the coming years. p

Swati Prasad is a freelance business journalist who has lived and worked in both Delhi and Mumbai as an editor and correspondent. She reports on business and the Indian economy.

The Mumbai Monorail serves as a feeder to high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit Systems.

3

5

7

6

2

41

Not depicted: city-wide projects 8 and 9 .