26 September,2016 06:28 PM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
The development body is in the final stages of selecting company to carry out project; work expected to begin next year
The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will be a six-lane bridge, connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva
Twenty years after the proposal for the ambitious Mumbai Trans Harbour Link was first mooted, the project will finally see the light of day. Construction work for the project, which has been caught in excessive beauracratic rigmarole, is expected to begin next year as the tendering process is slowly taking off.
According to a Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) official, the checking of the documents submitted by reputed companies as part of the Request of Qualification (RFQ) process is in its final stage and the work for the same is expected to be completed by the first or second week of October. This will be followed by the Request of Proposal (RFP), after which they will shortlist the company to carry out the construction. "The work tenders for the project are expected to be awarded by early next year," the senior official confirmed. In July this year, Metropolitan commissioner UPS Madan too had confirmed that the MTHL RFQ had received an excellent response. According to sources, the national and international companies that have shown an interest in the construction of the bridge include RInfra, TATA, Gammon India, NCC, AFCONS, Daewoo and OHL.
As per the plans, the first part of the project will see the construction of a 10.38-km-long bridge, spanning across Mumbai Bay and Sewri Interchange. The second part will include construction of a 7.807-km-long bridge portion across Mumbai bay and the Shivaji Nagar interchange. The final stage of the construction will involve construction of a 3.613-km-long viaduct and interchanges that would connect State highways 52 and 54 and National Highway 4B close to Chirle in Navi Mumbai.
The MTHL project
The MTHL, connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva, will be a six-lane bridge across the Mumbai Harbour. It is expected to help solve the congestion in Mumbai by improving connectivity between the island city and Navi Mumbai. The MTHL project is one of the most ambitious projects of the MMRDA as it has the potential of developing various areas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including Navi Mumbai and the Raigad area. It could also create job opportunities for the locals, said officials.
