January 15, 2026: The Andhra Pradesh government has outlined a strategy for self-financing and investment-driven urban development after a senior delegation reviewed metropolitan governance and city-building practices in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The initiative follows a two-day study tour aimed at adapting Mumbai’s development framework to Andhra Pradesh’s urban growth plans.
The delegation, led by S. Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD), visited Mumbai on January 12 and 13. The team examined approaches related to regional governance, land-based financing, transit-oriented development (TOD), slum redevelopment and large-scale urban planning, with a focus on applying these methods to the Vizag Economic Region (VER). Officials from the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA), the Directorate of Town and Country Planning and the State Project Management Unit were part of the visit.
During the tour, the delegation interacted with senior officials from agencies such as the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). These discussions focused on institutional frameworks and financial mechanisms used to deliver major urban infrastructure projects.
The team studied Mumbai’s use of land monetisation, Floor Space Index (FSI) premiums, development rights and TOD-linked revenues to fund infrastructure, rather than relying primarily on budgetary support. Special emphasis was placed on the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) as a financial district, as well as CIDCO’s Navi Mumbai and NAINA development models. These were examined as reference points for projects such as Bhogapuram Aerocity and Vizag 2.0.
Mr. Suresh Kumar said Mumbai provides a clear reference for Andhra Pradesh’s urban ambitions. “The way Maharashtra has empowered MMRDA and CIDCO, monetised government land, used FSI and TOD to fund Metro and housing, and created global districts such as BKC will directly guide Andhra Pradesh’s efforts to develop VER, Bay City, TOD corridors and new growth hubs across the State, positioning Andhra Pradesh for its next phase of urban and economic transformation,” he said.
VMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner N. Tej Bharath said similar principles would guide planning in the State. “The VER is now being designed on similar principles—master-planned growth centres, TOD-linked densification, brownfield redevelopment and land-based financing—so that Visakhapatnam becomes a self-sustaining metropolitan economy rather than a grant-dependent city,” he said.
