Mumbai Coastal Road will be ready in full splendour only by December 2025

The under-construction Worli Seaface promenade on January 25’

While the Coastal Road project will be fully open for motorists by May 2024, citizens need to wait till December 2025 for public spaces. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has reclaimed 110 hectares of the sea for the Coastal Road, with plans to create diverse theme parks on 70 hectares. These parks will include features like a butterfly garden, public art space, biodiversity park, woodland grove, coastal biodiversity park, amphitheatre, and an outdoor activity park. Additionally, a 7.50 km long promenade with a cycle track is part of the development.

Completion of civil work on the promenade and cycle track are pending. Pics/Satej Shinde

"The landscaping will be developed on 70 hectares of reclaimed land and along the promenade. An invitation for tenders will be extended soon, to complete the landscaping by the end of 2025" said M M Swami, chief engineer of the Mumbai Coastal Road project.

"The completion of civil work on the promenade and cycle track will conclude the Coastal Road project. The southbound channel from Worli to Nariman Point is set to open by February 2024, and the entire Coastal Road from Worli to Nariman Point is projected to be finished by May 2024. Motorists will then have a direct route from Bandra to Nariman Point via the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and Coastal Road starting in May," Swami added.

"The landscaping project is anticipated to experience delays compared to the Coastal Road construction due to the continued use of heavy machinery for the Coastal Road project. In the normal course of construction, landscaping typically commences after civil work is completed. However, the ongoing use of substantial machinery for the Coastal Road poses a primary obstacle, leading to a slower initiation of the landscaping phase," explained an official.

BMC documents reveal that the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change imposed conditions for approving the Coastal Road project, including the development of botanical butterfly gardens on reclaimed land. The reclaimed areas include Nariman Point, Kemps Corner near Priyadarshini Park, Haji Ali, and Worli, as outlined by the BMC.

70 HA
Land on which theme parks will be set up