The Maharashtra government signed as many as 19 memoranda of understanding involving proposed investments of Rs 14.5 lakh crore on the opening day of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos on January 19. Officials said the investment proposals have the potential to create more than 15 lakh employment opportunities across sectors, marking a strong start for the state at the global economic summit.
According to the state government, the wide range of sectors covered under the MoUs reflects growing global confidence in Maharashtra’s economic fundamentals, including its large consumer base, robust infrastructure, skilled workforce and policy stability. The agreements involve both domestic and international players, underscoring the state’s appeal as a long-term investment hub.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who inaugurated the Maharashtra state pavilion at Davos, described the response from global investors as “extremely encouraging.” He said the strong investment interest validates the state government’s focus on infrastructure-led growth, ease of doing business and future-ready urban planning.
Fadnavis also highlighted the government’s ambitious plan to develop a “third Mumbai,” noting that the proposed urban expansion project has drawn significant attention from global investors. According to him, interest in the project signals confidence in Maharashtra’s vision of planned urbanisation, enhanced connectivity and large-scale infrastructure development to support future economic growth.
Throughout the day, the chief minister held a series of high-level business-to-government meetings with leading global corporations, including Coca-Cola, Antora Energy and Brookfield. Officials said the discussions explored investment opportunities across a diverse set of sectors such as consumer goods, beverages, hospitality, logistics, urban infrastructure, green steel, renewable energy and digital infrastructure.
These engagements, the government said, are part of a broader strategy to position Maharashtra as a gateway for global capital into India, particularly in sunrise sectors aligned with sustainability, digital transformation and advanced manufacturing.
In a significant development reported separately, real estate major Lodha Developers Ltd entered into an initial agreement with the Maharashtra government to invest an additional Rs 1 trillion in a large-scale data centre park in the state. The fresh commitment substantially expands the company’s existing investment plans in Maharashtra’s digital infrastructure ecosystem.
Lodha Developers had earlier, around four months ago, signed an MoU worth Rs 30,000 crore with the state government for a data centre project. In a regulatory filing, the company said it has now committed an additional Rs 1 trillion, taking its total planned investment in data centre infrastructure in Maharashtra to Rs 1.3 trillion.
The latest MoU was signed on January 19 by Abhishek Lodha, Managing Director and CEO of Lodha Developers, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. The proposed data centre park is expected to have a total capacity of around 2.5 gigawatts, making it one of the largest such facilities in the country.
The company said several global technology players, including Amazon and STT Global Data Centers, have already acquired land parcels at the proposed site, indicating strong early interest from international firms seeking to expand their digital footprint in India.
State officials said the surge in data centre investments aligns with Maharashtra’s ambition to become a leading hub for digital infrastructure, cloud computing and emerging technologies, supported by reliable power supply, connectivity and a favourable policy framework.
With record investment pledges secured on the first day itself, the Maharashtra government said it expects further agreements to be signed over the course of the WEF meeting.
