Expand Mumbai with a group of artificial islands like Dubai!

Dutch futurists Adjiedj Bakas and Vinco David launch their bold book #Forwardism at the Dutch consulate-general in Mumbai

The Dutch Embassy in Mumbai is buzzing with excitement. The famous Dutch-Indian futurist Adjiedj Bakas is in town to launch the futuristic trend book #Forwardism, which he co-authored with geopolitical pundit Vinco David. Vinco unfortunately died before this book launch.

In their book they write about megatrends that will change India. And the opportunities these offer. Adjiedj and Vinco are well-known in the Netherlands, not only for their knowledge, but also for their creativity and bold ideas that India can use to make a big leap forward. Rupa Publications believes this out-of-the-box thinking is what India is thirsty for now.

Flower islands for Mumbai?

Vinco David was the project leader for Dutch credit insurance company Atradius during creation of Dubai’s Palm island, 2001–2007. Dutch companies Van Oord and Boskalis built the island, while Atradius insured it. Vinco’s well-documented experience is very useful for India, as he writes in the book.

“We Dutch are well known for our experience in land reclamation. We did it in our own country. I live in the city of Almere that is built on land reclaimed from the sea. We did it in Singapore and in Dubai. Why not in India? Mumbai is growing so fast. Why don’t we create a string of artificial islands in the sea in front of Mumbai. Indians love flowers and offer flowers to the gods. So we thought up the Flower islands in the form of a bouquet of flowers. Think of Lotus island, Sunflower island, Tulip island, Rose island, Dahlia island and more. Mumbai can use the Dutch experience in land reclamation to gain lots of extra land for the growing population. The Flower islands can also become a major tourist attraction. I had so much fun with the creation of Palm island in Dubai. It gives so much energy to be part of something as big as this. I also wrote in this book about the idea of Food islands in sea in front of other coastal Indian cities as my beloved Chennai and Kochi. Think of Pineapple island, Corn island, Mango island, Pork island and more.”

Twin cities Mumbai-Dubai as financial capital of the Global South

The authors welcome the idea of the UAE to connect Dubai and Mumbai with a superfast train, to be built in a tunnel on the seabed of the Arabian Sea.

“This way these two financial hubs actually merge. The Mumbai-Dubai twin cities should combine their city marketing and brand themselves as the financial capital of the Global South. They could persuade more tourists who visit Dubai to combine their trip with a visit to Mumbai. The hotel and tourism industry in Mumbai would become more booming this way.”

This first Indian book of these bold authors, whose previous books sold 1 million copies and were translated into Chinese, Brazilian-Portuguese and many other languages, is now published in English. Rupa Publications bought the right to publish it in all languages spoken on the Indian subcontinent, including Marathi.

Bernd Scholtz, the chief economist of the Dutch embassy writes the foreword for this book.

“I love the creativity of the authors Vinco David and Adjiedj Bakas. I fully support this book with more than 100 creative ideas for India. The artificial islands for Mumbai is only one of the bold ideas in this book. We at the embassy love it and fully embrace it. If the stakeholders in Maharashtra like the idea we are very happy to help to turn this idea into reality.”

Adjiedj Bakas: It took the Dutch only 6 years to build Palm Island in Dubai. We could easily do the same in Mumbai, if we could start in 2026. The new islands could then be inaugurated in 2032. This will give a boost of positive energy, not only to Mumbai and Maharashtra but to all of India. On one of these islands we propose to build an enormous iconic statue, about the size of New York’s Statue of Liberty. That could become the symbol of Mumbai, to be used in its city marketing.

Soft powers

Adjiedj Bakas: America could become a superpower, not only because of its economic and military might, but also because of its soft powers. America’s soft power lies in Hollywood, music, jeans, t-shirts, sneakers and other fashion. China’s soft power lies in TikTok and AliBaba. India’s soft power lies now in yoga, meditation and Bollywood. India’s soft power could be expanded with these islands. Many people today suffer from stress, anxiety and burnouts. We should therefore also use the power of humour to make people smile. On our proposed Pork Island we propose an enormous statue of Miss Piggy in Bollywood colours. In my home I have such a Dutch-Indian glass statue, made by a modern artist. Everybody loves it.

Adjiedj Bakas: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai was very visionary when he thought up the artificial islands at the start of his rule. Many people thought that he had gone mad. He asked the Dutch to help him to turn his dream into reality and now he is praised as a great leader. We sincerely hope that Maharashtra’s governor, the honourable Mr C. P. Radhakrishnan, who was appointed in 2024 will embrace this idea in his first term of 5 years, so it can be opened in his second term, if he is re-elected. Thus he might become an early reincarnation of the visionary sheikh of Dubai. Of course this will cost a lot of money, but we believe that this would be a solid investment for pension funds, institutional investors, banks, real estate developers and other stakeholders in India and the Netherlands. Don’t forget: ‘The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.’

By Diepmala Sheerbahadursingh