Somaliland Ambassador Lee Kuan Yimby has praised Mumbai Metro 3’s Aqua Line as “phenomenal” while raising concerns about cleanliness, sanitation, waste management and the city’s waterfronts
MUMBAI, India — Somaliland Ambassador Lee Kuan Yimby has praised Mumbai’s infrastructure development, describing the city’s Metro 3 Aqua Line as “phenomenal,” while using a recent visit to highlight what he sees as persistent shortcomings in sanitation, waste management and waterfront maintenance.
In a post on X following his visit, Yimby credited Mumbai for its progress in transport infrastructure but argued that the city’s development story should increasingly include the quality of its public spaces and relationship with the sea.
Lee Kuan Yimby, who describes himself as a ‘High Trust Society Planner,’ holds a PhD from Lee Kuan Yewniversity and is a volunteer ambassador to the Republic of Somaliland.
“I was just in Mumbai, and I have to give them credit for the progress they’re making on infrastructure. The new Aqua Line metro is phenomenal,” Yimby wrote.
His comments come as Mumbai’s Metro 3, also known as the Aqua Line, has emerged as one of the city’s major transport projects. The 33.5-kilometer corridor connects Aarey-JVLR with Cuffe Parade and is Mumbai’s first fully underground metro line. Its final section became operational in October 2025.
I was just in Mumbai, and I have to give them credit for the progress they’re making on infrastructure. The new Aqua Line metro is phenomenal. But the amount of work India still has to do on basic cleanliness and sanitation and it is hard to understand until you see it yourself.… https://t.co/u6CbRjThkm pic.twitter.com/pXiY37DhrE
— Lee Kuan Yimby (@LeeKuanYimby) August 22, 2026
Praise for Mumbai’s infrastructure transformation
Yimby’s assessment places Mumbai’s transport modernization at the center of a broader argument about urban development.
The Aqua Line has significantly expanded connectivity between northern and southern parts of the city while linking major commercial districts, residential areas and transport hubs. Following the opening of its final section, ridership increased substantially, underscoring the demand for mass-transit alternatives in one of India’s most congested metropolitan areas.
But Yimby argued that physical infrastructure should not be assessed solely through major construction projects.
In his view, the next stage of urban development should address basic services that determine how residents experience the city every day.
‘Mumbai is completely surrounded by water’
The ambassador devoted particular attention to Mumbai’s coastline.
Despite the city’s extensive waterfront, Yimby argued that residents have relatively few places where they can comfortably interact with the sea.
“Mumbai is completely surrounded by water, yet there are almost no places where people can actually enjoy the water,” he wrote.
He described concerns about garbage, water quality and the condition of some beaches, arguing that the problem cannot be reduced to individual littering.
Instead, he pointed to what he characterized as long-standing shortcomings in waste collection, sewage treatment and enforcement.
His central argument was that environmental infrastructure should be treated with the same seriousness as roads, airports and metro systems.
Mumbai’s beaches being unusable is an accurate observation. However I’m very optimistic on it being tackled. A substantial challenge in our beach pollution are slums. They lack the sewage and garbage infrastructure which invariably finds itself into the sea.
As Mumbai… https://t.co/6wcAOfwHcW
— Vishal Bhargava (@VishalBhargava5) August 23, 2026
From megaprojects to basic services
Yimby also praised the broader direction of India’s development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi while calling for cleanliness to become a more prominent national priority.
India has demonstrated its capacity to construct major transport and digital infrastructure, he argued, but comparable attention should be given to waste collection, drainage, sewage treatment and the maintenance of public spaces.
He suggested that employment programs could be used to create paid work involving waste collection, drain and waterway maintenance, beach cleaning and public-space management, provided such efforts were supported by appropriate equipment, supervision and processing infrastructure.
“India has shown that it can build metros, airports, highways, and digital infrastructure,” Yimby wrote, making the case that clean streets and usable waterways should also be regarded as essential infrastructure.
We desperately need a new Swachh Bharat campaign.
It’s not just Mumbai – drive around the NCR or take a train journey.
The mounds of garbage and plastic waste assault your senses, as do the broken pavements. It’s one the first thing visitors notice about the country, and it’s… https://t.co/Sbfzsmgdvb
— Vikram Chandra (@vikramchandra) August 23, 2026
A waterfront with greater potential
The ambassador ultimately framed Mumbai’s coastline as an unrealized urban asset.
He argued that the city has the geographical advantages to develop a world-class waterfront but that realizing that potential would require sustained investment in sanitation, sewage treatment, waste management and enforcement.
The criticism has also resonated with a broader public debate about Mumbai’s rapid transformation. The city is simultaneously expanding its transport network and confronting longstanding challenges associated with pollution, waste and the management of its coastline.
Yimby’s comments therefore present a familiar urban-development dilemma in a particularly dramatic setting: how can a rapidly modernizing city ensure that its basic public infrastructure advances at the same pace as its landmark megaprojects?
For Mumbai, the Aqua Line demonstrates what large-scale infrastructure investment can achieve. The ambassador’s criticism suggests that the next measure of progress may be less spectacular but equally important — whether residents can experience the city’s streets, beaches and waterfronts as clean, accessible and healthy public spaces.
