‘If Singapore can do it, why can’t we?’ Aaditya Thackeray on finding solution to Mumbai's road repair woes

Concrete roads require around 7-10 days to cure in Mumbai, whereas the time is shorter at 2-3 days in Singapore. File pic

After Shanghai, Mumbai is now looking at Singapore to find a solution for its road repair woes. Mumbai suburban guardian minister Aaditya Thackeray, in a review meeting of pre-monsoon work at the BMC headquarters on Thursday, said they are looking at the technology used by other countries when repairing roads. He said, "Rain is a major problem in Mumbai for roads and Singapore receives rain through the whole year. We will understand the technology they use there for road repairs."

According to an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, it takes around 7 to 10 days for concrete roads to cure here whereas the time is significantly shorter at 2 to 3 days in Singapore due to their choice of concrete. The official added, "Here, we use this kind of concrete in the construction of bridges in water bodies, such as rivers. However, the cost is around 1.5 times more than regular concrete."

"The concrete used for road construction in Singapore is also high-strength. If adopted here, the quality of the roads will improve. In addition, as the curing period is shorter, more repair work could be taken up and the BMC will not have to face the challenge of getting permission from the traffic police," he added.

Another official said that the minister had also discussed the road repairing technique in Japan earlier. In Japan, roads are constructed using MS structure over ducts. When a part of a road gets damaged, only that part is removed and replaced, thus bringing down the repair time significantly. An official from the civic roads department said, "The process is as easy as removing part of POP sheets from false ceilings and replacing it. However, this method was never used in India and is also very costly."

As per information shared by BMC road department under Right to Information Act, the civic body spent Rs 2,828 crore to repair 209.86 km of concrete road and another Rs 2,106 crore to repair 789.86 km of asphalt road, from 2010 to 2021.

The civic body has also decided to convert all asphalt roads to concrete roads. and accordingly 219 km of road is to be repaired in the ongoing financial year. The BMC has made a provision of Rs 2,000 crore for road repairs this financial year.

Rs 2k cr
BMC's allotment for road repairs this fiscal