Development Watch – Week #2 Sept’25

Development News

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Mumbai redevelopment to add housing supply

Mumbai region is witnessing redevelopment of many housing societies, resulting in fresh supply of more than 44,000 homes by 2030 worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore, according to Knight Frank. Real estate consultant Knight Frank India released a report, stating that Mumbai’s redevelopment landscape is undergoing a structural transformation. A confluence of policy incentives, asset-light developer strategies, and capital market alignment has made redevelopment not just viable, but strategically compelling. Knight Frank has estimated that the current society redevelopment projects in Mumbai (MCGM) region would add a total of 44,277 new homes at the value of Rs 1,30,500 crore.

99% electrification of Indian Railways

Electrification of the Indian Railways network is now in the final leg with over 99% complete till August-end. According to official data, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Assam are the only states where electrification of the broad-gauge network is left. Besides electrification, the national transporter is also scaling up renewable energy deployment with installed solar capacity. Supplementing the electrification and pushing towards net zero, the national transporter is also advancing on its renewable energy adoption plans. Simultaneously, Indian Railways is boosting renewable energy adoption, exceeding 4,500 MW in installed solar capacity through rooftop installations and large-scale land-based projects, furthering its net-zero goals.

Gurgaon metro to expand after 8-year gap

Eight years after the city last saw an expansion of its metro network, work on phase 1 of a new corridor began on Friday with a groundbreaking ceremony led by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. Phase 1, with a budget of ₹1,277 crore, will include a 15.3km elevated corridor with 14 stations from Millennium City Centre to Basai, along with a 1.8km spur to the Dwarka Expressway and a connecting ramp to the Sector 33 depot. Once completed, phase 1 will form part of a 30.5km corridor stretching across Old Gurgaon and ending at Cyber City. The project aims to ease traffic and reduce pollution. Further extensions are planned for better connectivity. The completion is expected within 30 months.

Delhi airport T3 to boost international capacity by 50%

Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal 3 is expanding its international passenger handling capacity by 50% this winter, increasing from 2 crore to 3 crore annually. This expansion involves converting a domestic pier for international use, expected to be completed by December. With runway repairs and Terminal 2 reopening, IGIA will become India’s first airport exceeding 10 CPA. Clearances from four agencies were required to begin the work — Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), customs and CISF. Only the BCAS clearance was awaited. DIAL has started the preparatory work. T3 is seeing almost 67,000-68,000 international travellers daily, which translates to about 2.4 crore foreign flyers annually.

India’s first green hydrogen port inaugurated

Union Ports, Shipping, and Waterways inaugurated India’s first port-based Green Hydrogen Pilot Project at V.O. Chidambaranar (VOC) Port on Friday. The green hydrogen pilot project will power streetlights and an electric vehicle charging station in the port colony. With this launch, VOC Port has become the first port in the country to produce green hydrogen. India aims to be among the world’s top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030, and top five by 2047. The minister also laid foundation for a pilot green methanol bunkering and refuelling facility. This is aligned with the proposed coastal green shipping corridor between Kandla and Tuticorin.

NCAP-like initiative to E-rickshaws for road safety

The government plans to introduce Bharat NCAP-like safety standards for e-rickshaws. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari highlighted road safety concerns, citing numerous accidents and fatalities. He emphasized the importance of helmet and seat belt usage. Gadkari also mentioned that road accidents cause a 3% GDP loss. Addressing the 7th Edition of FICCI Road Safety Awards and Symposium, the Minister for Road, Transport and Highways said road safety is an important issue for the government. Nearly five lakh road accidents occur in the country annually, claiming 1.8 lakh lives.

AI Infrastructure company to raise $3 billion

Nebius Group said on Wednesday it would raise $3 billion to fuel growth in its core artificial intelligence cloud business, on the heels of its $17.4-billion deal with Microsoft. The financing includes a $2 billion private offering of convertible senior notes and a $1 billion underwritten public offering of the company’s class A shares. Goldman Sachs is lead book-running manager on the public offering alongside Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and Citigroup as additional book-running managers. Nebius will use the cash to finance continuing growth, including the acquisition of additional compute power and hardware, securing land plots with reliable providers and expanding its data center footprint. Amsterdam-based Nebius announced it would provide Microsoft with GPU infrastructure capacity over a five-year term. Microsoft may also acquire additional services capacity under the deal, bringing the total contract value to about $19.4 billion.