08 February,2009 02:29 PM IST | | PTI
Maharashtra Government's major infrastructure projects to transfer Mumbai into a world-class city, including Metro and Monorail may be hit by the code of conduct to be announced ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
"For Metrorail phase-II a foundation stone ceremony is yet to be performed and Monorail work has not started yet. If code of conduct gets announced then the projects would be delayed atleast by three to four months," a senior official from Urban Development Department told PTI.
The two other projects likely to be delayed are Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and skywalk proposed for railway stations, he said.
It is expected that the code of conduct would be announced this month, as the elections are being planned for April, the official said.
The cost of the projects ranges between Rs 1,000 and Rs 6,000 crore and the delay would further increase the cost, the official said.
In Metro rail project, the routes have been proposed from Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd. The estimated cost of the phase is of Rs 8,000 crore.
Monorail is another ambitious project designed for the city's congested lanes. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was supposed to lay the foundation stone for the project on November 29.
However, the ceremony was deferred following the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks.
The 19.54-km-long monorail, will connect south Mumbai to the eastern suburbs (Jacob Circle to Chembur via Wadala), is expected to be completed by May 2011. Malaysian-based Scomi Engineering in collaboration with Larsen & Toubro will execute the Rs 2,460 crore project.
The MTHL project of around Rs 6,000 crore being developed by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) envisages construction of a 22-km bridge, which will link Sewri on the Mumbai island with Nhava on the mainland across the Arabian Sea.
The MMRDA has announced a plan to set up 50 skywalks in the Mumbai metropolitan region at a total cost of Rs 600 crore.
