Mumbai Trans Harbour Link could be ready to use by year-end

The construction of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) - the longest sea bridge in India, which links Sewri and Nhava Sheva - is 92 per cent complete. The bridge is expected to be operational by end of 2023. After achieving another milestone, MMRDA recently tweeted, "Team MMRDA at MTHL Pkg2 accomplished a major feat. They successfully completed entire 3,132 segments casting (sic)."

Metropolitan Commissioner S V R Srinivas said, "It's a wonderful achievement as we cross one more milestone and move a little closer towards the project finish. This engineering marvel is now 92 per cent complete." The project entails the construction of an 18-km-long marine road and a four-km-long land approach road that will connect central Mumbai with Navi Mumbai across Mumbai Bay. The project will improve connectivity to Navi Mumbai, where further urban development is being planned, and will also contribute to the economic development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Recently, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is funding the project, extended an official development assistance (ODA) loan of 30,755 million Yen (approximately Rs 1,927 crore) for the project. This is the third tranche for the project and the loan agreement for the first and second tranches were signed on March 31, 2017, and March 27, 2020, respectively.

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The project is proposed to be developed as an expressway link comprising a dual three-lane main-carriageway bridge connecting Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai. When completed, this link will reduce the road distance between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai and travel time to one-fourth of the current figures.

The project is envisaged to accelerate the growth of Navi Mumbai; smoothen the traffic flow from the Navi Mumbai International Airport to Mumbai; and enable greater economic integration of Mumbai with Navi Mumbai and with the extended regions of Pune, Goa, Panvel and Alibaug.

MTHL will be constructed with approach sections, interchanges, an intelligent transportation system (ITS) and other facilities required for full access-controlled motorway marine bridges. The commencement date of the three civil work packages was March 23, 2018, and the progress, as of February 20, 2023, of Package 1, 2 and 3 is 91 per cent, 89 per cent and 93 per cent respectively.

The progress of Package 4 is 28 per cent, and this entails works related to the ITS, toll management system, electrical works, highway illumination system, construction of toll plazas and an administrative building, including a command control centre.

18
Length of the marine road in kilometres