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The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) recently participated in the World Economic Forum-linked Davos Baukultur Alliance Annual Meeting in Bern, Switzerland, highlighting Mumbai’s growing position in global urban development discussions. Representing MMRDA, Metropolitan Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee engaged with international policymakers, infrastructure experts and World Economic Forum leadership on future-ready metropolitan planning, sustainable urbanisation and mobility-led growth. The discussions focused on integrated infrastructure, climate resilience, multimodal transport and investment-ready development models. The visit also strengthened MMRDA’s ongoing collaboration with the World Economic Forum and opened further discussions on expanding long-term institutional partnerships beyond 2026.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) participated in the World Economic Forum-linked Davos Baukultur Alliance Annual Meeting 2026 held in Bern, Switzerland, marking another step in the growing international recognition of Mumbai’s urban transformation and metropolitan development strategy. Advertisement
The meeting was held at Zentrum Paul Klee and brought together senior representatives from global urban planning, infrastructure, finance, construction, architecture, real estate and policy institutions. Representing MMRDA at the global platform, Metropolitan Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee took part in strategic discussions focused on sustainable urbanisation, resilient infrastructure and future-ready metropolitan planning.
During the event, Dr. Mukherjee also met Alois Zwinggi, President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Economic Forum, to discuss future collaboration opportunities between MMRDA and the Forum. The discussions included extending the existing Memorandum of Collaboration beyond September 2026, deeper engagement under the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation and participation in programmes such as YES Cities.
The World Economic Forum, headquartered in Geneva, works with governments, businesses and institutions worldwide on issues related to economic growth, sustainability, governance, climate resilience, infrastructure and urban transformation. Its Centre for Urban Transformation supports cities and metropolitan authorities in building sustainable and investment-ready urban models, which aligns closely with Mumbai’s ongoing infrastructure and mobility expansion.
The annual meeting was organised under the theme “Liveable Places” and focused on the concept of “Baukultur”, which promotes sustainable, people-centric and culturally sensitive urban environments. Discussions at the platform examined how planning quality, governance frameworks, financing systems and sustainability measures can be integrated into large-scale urban development projects from the early stages.
As part of the official programme, Dr. Mukherjee participated in a session titled “Before the First Brick: Aligning Capital with Quality.” The session focused on integrating governance systems, land frameworks, financial planning, sustainability measures and risk allocation into infrastructure development before project execution begins.
During the discussions, Dr. Mukherjee highlighted MMRDA’s approach towards infrastructure-led metropolitan transformation and stressed the importance of integrating resilience, mobility, sustainability and citizen-focused planning into long-term urban development strategies.
He also presented the progress of Mumbai’s large-scale metro network expansion, underground mobility corridors, multimodal transport systems, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) initiatives, digital mobility integration and regional growth hubs. MMRDA’s broader “Mumbai in Minutes” and “Mumbai 3.0” vision frameworks were also discussed during the interactions.
International stakeholders reportedly showed interest in Mumbai’s integrated metropolitan development model due to the scale and complexity involved in transforming one of the world’s most densely populated urban regions while simultaneously developing future-ready infrastructure systems.
The discussions in Bern also reviewed the progress made since MMRDA and the World Economic Forum signed a Memorandum of Collaboration in Mumbai in September 2024. The agreement was aimed at cooperation in sustainable urban development, infrastructure transformation, investment facilitation and metropolitan planning.
Over the past two years, MMRDA’s engagement with the World Economic Forum ecosystem has helped the authority participate in global policy dialogues and strengthen exchanges with international institutions working in urban development, sustainability and infrastructure planning.
In his remarks during the meeting, Dr. Mukherjee said the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is emerging as one of the world’s major urban growth and infrastructure transformation corridors. He stated that MMRDA is working towards building a globally competitive, climate-resilient and future-ready metropolitan economy through integrated mobility, sustainability and long-term regional planning. He added that Mumbai’s urban development journey offers important learnings for other cities exploring scalable infrastructure and metropolitan governance models.
Dr. Mukherjee also invited Alois Zwinggi to visit Mumbai as part of the next phase of collaboration between MMRDA and the World Economic Forum.
According to MMRDA, several strategic collaborations, investment frameworks and institutional partnerships initiated through its recent World Economic Forum engagements have already moved into active implementation, advanced planning or execution stages across infrastructure, mobility, sustainability, innovation and regional economic growth sectors.
Source MMRDA
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