Mumbai: Mumbai is poised for a major urban transformation with plans for a 125-acre, world-class Central Park at the iconic Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Announced on Monday by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the ambitious project has been designed by renowned architect Hafeez Contractor. Shinde said an additional 170 acres of land reclaimed through the Coastal Road project would be integrated with the park, taking its total area to 295 acres.
“This is the biggest gift ever for Mumbaikars. There will be no concrete construction at this location,” Shinde said. He added that Central Park would be directly connected to the Coastal Road through an underground passage. Shinde, who also heads the Urban Development Department (UDD), assured that the racecourse and its historical heritage would not be affected in any manner.
The Central Park will also feature a world-class sports complex spread over 10 lakh square feet beneath the park. The facility will cater to international-level sports as well as traditional games such as kho-kho and kabaddi.
For smooth traffic management, the park will be connected to the Coastal Road via a 1,200-metre-long underground passage. A tender worth Rs550 crore has been issued for the project.
Explaining the connectivity plan, BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said the nearest Metro Line 3 station to the park will be Nehru Science Centre. This station will be connected to Central Park via an underground passage, which will further extend along Annie Besant Road to Haji Ali and link to a parking facility near the Coastal Road with a capacity of 1,200 cars and 100 buses.
Shinde also announced an international-standard amusement park in Thane, his political stronghold. A viewing tower – proposed to be the tallest in India – will be built on 50 acres along the Thane creek. The tower will stand 260 metres tall, compared to the Eiffel Tower’s height of 300 metres.
Additionally, Shinde announced several major projects for Thane, including a convention centre at Kasarvadavali; a 25-acre town park at Kolshet; an agri Koli museum; an aquarium; a science centre; an international-standard snow park; an amusement park; an adventure park; a bird museum spread over 12.5 acres; a 25-acre musical concert centre; and a state-of-the-art sports complex over 50 acres.
The Thane Municipal Corporation will also develop an 18.4-km-long Anandvan green belt connecting to Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
Expressing confidence in the projects, Shinde said they would enhance the quality of life in Thane, provide world-class facilities for talented sportspersons, and accelerate the city’s development. He added that the tendering process for most of the projects has already begun and that all developments will be executed on a BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis.
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