This year, Maharashtra budget has outlined its plan to prioritise infrastructure in a big way, indicating its intention and agenda for development. There are several significant urban projects in the city of Mumbai alone, from the metro rail to the coastal road, the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link Project, the Virar-Alibaug multimodal corridor, and sewage treatment plants. In the state, the mega Samrudhhi Mahamarg project, a multimodal highway between Mumbai and Nagpur, has caught the fancy of many an investor. A virtual conference called “Construction World Maharashtra”, to be spearheaded by Construction World on April 28, will capture these and other projects in the offing for India’s richest state. Some of the biggest names from government, public and private sectors will discuss and provide insights on various aspects of this focus theme, shedding light on perspectives that include business opportunities, infrastructure finance, and project status(Click here to go to the CW Maharashtra page.) The virtual conference “CW Maharashtra” will bring on the same platform some of the world’s largest project developers, construction companies, architect firms, investment banks and private equity firms. Discussions will revolve around three themes: -Creating large scale business opportunities in Maharashtra by encouraging large construction projects and innovative finance.-Megaproject opportunities in Maharashtra with a deep-dive into Mumbai eastern waterfront: Port redevelopment and future possibilities along the eastern waterfront.-Secured Governance / Urban equity withdrawal project financing through asset monetisation. In his budget speech, the state’s Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had outlaid a revenue-deficit budget of Rs 10,226 crore. A significant proportion of this budgetary outlay will be devoted to infrastructure and related projects. Electric vehicle charging stations to be set-up on major highways (Mumbai -Pune, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Nashik). Allocation of Rs 8,420 crore for the urban development department. Allocation of Rs 2,533cr for water supply and sanitation.New ring road to be made in Pune The ambitious 701 km, Rs 55,000 crore Samruddhi Mahamarg, like most other projects, has received a small timeline setback from the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the much-awaited opening of the first 520 km of the stretch will need to be pushed back from its May 1 deadline. When it opens to traffic, it will be multimodal, directly connecting 10 districts, 26 talukas and around 392 villages. The year 2021-22 has also caught the attention of the central government on infrastructure, and Maharashtra will also launch and commission many projects in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). CW Maharashtra’s panels are also expected to discuss the NIP and its work in the state. Established in 1996, Construction World is India’s premier and largest circulated construction business magazine, covering projects, policies and people to topical concerns, trends, technology, and products. This award-winning, flagship publication of Mumbai-headquartered ASAPP Info Global Group is circulated among architects and builders; material and equipment players, industry stakeholders, business leaders, policymakers, and change-agents. The magazine’s website www.constructionworld.in has over 180,000 unique visitors and around four million hits a month.