Harbour link takes another step towards reality

The work on the long-pending Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) got yet another push, with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) scheduled to receive bids from the five eligible consortiums by end of May.

The Rs10,000-crore (approximately) and 22-km-long sea bridge will connect Mumbai to Navi Mumbai and Raigad and is being billed as a regional development project.

In a reply to a question by Madhukar Pichad (NCP) and others in the state legislative assembly on Tuesday, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said that the tender documents had been distributed to the eligible consortiums and the tenders were excepted to be received by end of May. After the agreement is inked, the actual work is expected to begin in six months. The project is expected to take around five years to complete.

In December 2012, the Union finance ministry’s empowered committee had approved a viability gap funding (VGF) of Rs1,920 crore for the project and Chavan pointed out that this was the first time any infrastructure project had managed to get such a huge amount as VGF.

The MTHL will also improve connectivity to the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport and Chavan added that the project had the potential to change Mumbai’s economic scenario.

The six- lane MTHL will have a 16.5km section in the sea and a 5.5km portion on land. It will connect Sewri in Central Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai.