Mumbai: Mumbai’s development authority has approved plans to build what would be the city’s costliest sea link, with the estimated budget for the project having more than doubled in the five years since it was first conceived.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) earlier this month approved plans for building the Versova-Virar sea link — a 43-km elevated road — at a cost of Rs 63,426 crore, according to the minutes of the authority’s meeting that ThePrint has seen.
The sea link will connect Versova, a western suburb of Mumbai, to the fast-growing, dense residential hub of Virar— Mumbai’s satellite town in the city’s larger urban agglomeration of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
When the project was first conceived in 2018, it was estimated to cost about Rs 30,000 crore, MMRDA officials told ThePrint.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) was supposed to implement the project then. The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government decided to hand it over to the MMRDA in October last year.
“When the project was handed over to the MMRDA, we realised that the original cost estimate of about Rs 30,000 crore did not include the cost of certain elements, such as some interchanges and tunnels. The base price of all elements while calculating the cost was also old,” S.V.R. Srinivas, MMRDA commissioner, told ThePrint,
He added: “Since this is a large project, we are getting the entire feasibility report peer reviewed by another consultant too.”
The Versova-Virar sea link will be an extension to the Bandra-Versova sea link in the north. The 17-km Bandra-Versova sea link being constructed by the MSRDC will connect with the existing Bandra-Worli sea link, which will then link with the under-construction coastal freeway. Once all the links are ready, motorists will have seamless connectivity from Marine Drive in the south to Virar in the north.
Till now, the under-construction Sewri-Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) was touted to be the longest sea link not just in the city, but also across the country. Being built at a cost of Rs 17,843 crore, it was also Mumbai costliest sea link project till now.
The Bandra Versova sea link is expected to cost Rs 11,332.82 crore, while the Bandra Worli sea link was built at a cost of Rs 1,634 crore.
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On Sewri-Nhava Sheva MTHL model
Once completed, the 43-km Versova-Virar sea link will be longer than the under-construction Sewri-Nhava Sheva MTHL.
The MTHL is also being implemented by the MMRDA, which expects to commission the road by December this year.
The 22-km MTHL — a crucial connector to the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport — is being built at a cost of Rs 17,843 crore, the costliest till now.
According to the minutes of the MMRDA meeting, the authority has proposed to build the Versova-Virar sea link on the same financial model as the MTHL.
The showpiece MTHL is being funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with guarantees from the state and the central governments.
“Considering the large project cost, to obtain funding, we have presented a preliminary project report to the Department of Economic Affairs (of the Union Finance Ministry),” an MMRDA official, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint.
“As soon as we get the approval of the NITI Aayog and the Union urban development ministry, we will propose the project for financing by JICA through the Department of Economic Affairs with guarantees from the state and central governments, just like for MTHL,” he added.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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