"Vingroup explores smart city venture in Maharashtra."

Vietnam’s Vingroup, whose automobile arm VinFast is rapidly expanding its presence in India’s electric vehicle segment, is planning to develop smart cities across several Indian States and is in discussions with the Maharashtra government, senior company officials said.

The Maharashtra government has offered land in Pune for the proposed project. However, Vingroup is evaluating cities with a population of at least one crore for its smart city developments and is not considering Mumbai as a location, Pham Sanh Chau, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Vingroup Asia Operations.

The proposed smart cities will comprise integrated urban developments featuring residential housing, hospitals, shopping malls, schools, and electric mobility infrastructure. The projects are expected to follow the model of Vinhomes Smart City in Hanoi, one of the group’s flagship urban developments in Vietnam.