Essel to invest Rs 500 crore at Gorai

The Essel group has expressed interest to invest Rs 500 crore in the Recreation & Tourism Development Zone (RTSEZ) in the Gorai-Manori-Uttan area, being set up by the state government.

Nilesh Mistry, vice-president, corporate affairs, Essel World, said, "We are excited about the Gorai-Manori-Uttan region being made a special zone for entertainment sector. Being an integral part of the project, Essel World is also looking at an investment of close to Rs 500 crore over the next few years for the development of the region. This project will lead to new avenues of revenue generation for both the state government as well as private players."

EsselWorld is the entertainment park of the group at Gorai. The group has about 800 acre of land in the Gorai-Manori-Uttan region.

The state government has appointed Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) as a special planning authority and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation as the consultant for this project. MMRDA has commenced work on the master plan for this zone.

As many as 30 global architects have bid for the project, of which two have been shortlisted. The authorities are expected to select an architect shortly.

Bhushan Gagarani, managing director, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, said, "The project report as well as the master plan for the venture will be completed in six months. We will then invite private players for their proposal for the recreation and tourism zone."

Some of the concepts that the Essel group has floated for the entertainment zone include a cultural village called Little India, a defence pavilion and a Bollywood city on the lines of Universal Studios.

This zone will start earning revenue for the state by 2010. Mistry further said, "If this region is developed as envisaged, it can generate over 15,000 direct jobs during construction and over 18,000 direct jobs during initial period of operations, rising to 35,000 jobs over the next 15 years.