Mantralaya sources told The Financial Express that nearly Rs 3,000 crore would be sought for carrying out a comprehensive urban renewal project for Mumbai. The government will request the WB to speedily release the loan for the implementation of much talked about Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-II with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore. The government also proposes to take an aid of Rs 5,000 crore for water works and related projects in rural Maharashtra.

As many as Rs 6,000 crore would be needed for the implementation of MUTP-II comprising the upgradation of Greater Mumbai rail services and road projects. The WB loan component will be nearly 61 per cent while the balance will be shared by the Centre and the state government.

Government sources said that the MUTP-II has been proposed with the principal objective of socio-economic and infrastructural development of the city. The total cost of the 14 MUTP rail projects is given at Rs 5,342 crore. The funds will be provided to the newly set up Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation which will be executing these projects. The Centre and state will share 50 per cent each the costs of these projects.

Of the total cost of Rs 5,342 crore, WB funds are worth Rs 3,094 crore. The repayment of the WB loan will commence from 2006 and will be payable upto the period of 2025.

A detailed proposal in this regard will be submitted by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to the World Bank during the last leg of his two-week tour to the UK and US. Deshmukh, alongwith state finance minister Jayant Patil and host of senior bureaucrats, will attend a three-day WB sponsored Competitive Cities conference in Washington during May 17-19.

The meet will discuss issues related to wired cities, smart cities (using IT and the Internet to accelerate economic development), connecting cities to their regions for sustainable development and attracting and retaining national and international investment. The state government is keen to upgrade civic amenities for the Greater Mumbai and implement slums reconstruction programme. Meanwhile, Deshmukh will hold meetings with the Indo-British Partnership, NRIs and investors in London. In addition to this, he, alongwith industries minister Patangrao Kadam and his deputy Jaidutt Kshirsagar, will address investors' meet in New York.

Deshmukh, who has expressed his desire to make Mumbai the dot.com capital, will hold talks with IndUS Enterpreneur's Kanwal Rekhi and Standford University Research Centre.