Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has given nod to set- up a world class Innovation Park in Mumbai. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will be the nodal authority for the project. The exact site of the project is still under wraps. However, according to MMRDA officials, it would take an hour to reach it from Panvel. The Innovation Park will be spread over 5,000 acres and will house research and development centres of private industry as well as government, where 25,000 scientific experts from over 100 countries will work. According to the release, once the hub is operational, it will create around one lakh scientific jobs and nearly eight lakh jobs for allied services. It will also enhance the gross domestic production of the country. The estimated cost of the project is Rupees 10,000 crore. Pune University’s Science and Technology Park will assist MMRDA in this project. MMRDA has planned the hub on the lines of Sophia Antipolis, a technology park in France. The Park will have Pharma, Bio-Technology Functional Food, Bio-Polymer Micro Electronics, Embedded System, Water Technology, Clean Technology, energy, fuel Cell, digital media and health sectors. The park will also have an international convention centre, international research university, business incubators, a design institute and a language centre. Maharashtra will become an important global destination for scientific conventions with the setting up of this hub.