New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the multi-crore Sewri Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link – also known as Atal Setu – Friday that will enhance South Mumbai’s connectivity with the mainland, the upcoming Navi Mumbai International airport and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
The 22-km harbour link or MTHL, named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is the country’s longest sea link, constructed at a cost of Rs 17,843 crore. The six-lane bridge will run for 16.5 kilometres over the sea and 5.5 kilometres on land.
“I had performed the bhoomipujan [foundation laying ceremony] for this project…For us bhoomipujans and inaugurations are not just about a day, not just about coming before the people and media. But it is about the formation of a new India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
“From Devendra ji [Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis] to Eknath ji [CM Eknath Shinde] to [Deputy CM] Ajit Pawar ji, Maharashtra development is all thanks to these leaders,” he added.
Mumbai is surrounded by sea, which makes horizontal expansion a challenge even as the city grows denser. The only expansion possible is by stretching vertically – which the city already is – and increasing connections to the mainland. The MTHL was conceived two decades ago with this thought in mind.
Between 2005 and 2011, there were three attempts to bid out the project, but all fell through due to some reason or the other. Developers also saw the project as too expensive and risky.
In 2016, the Maharashtra government secured funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and awarded fresh contracts for the link in 2017.
Construction eventually started in 2018. The Covid-induced lockdown slowed the project a bit, but after many missed deadlines, the bridge was ready for inauguration on 12 January, 2024.
How MTHL will boost connectivity
The MTHL has three interchanges – one at Sewri, the second at Shivajinagar at Ulwe, where the MTHL meets Navi Mumbai, and the last one at Chirle, where the MTHL will end, officials from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the implementing authority for the project, have said.
The immediate benefit is that MTHL will serve as the key connector to the Navi Mumbai International Airport, which is likely to be ready for operations by December this year.
This is through the Shivajinagar interchange. This interchange will also provide connectivity to local roads in Navi Mumbai and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. The Chirle interchange, where MTHL ends, will provide connectivity to the Mumbai Pune Expressway.
The Sewri interchanges will be connected to the Eastern Freeway which runs from Ghatkopar to south Mumbai, and will also be connected to the under-construction Sewri Worli road, which will in turn connect with the coastal road and the Bandra Worli Sea Link.
But all of this connectivity that the MTHL will provide will come at a cost. The state government has fixed a one-way toll of Rs 250 for the road.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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