MMRDA to get MTHL

The Maharashtra government has decided to award the contract for building the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, or MTHL, to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). This announcement was made in the Legislative Council on Thursday. The link will connect Shewri in South Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai. The MMRDA may face many hurdles in constructing the 22km sea link as the road passes through the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. It is not clear whether the project will get clearance from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). According to MMRDA officials, the project cost will now escalate to . 11,000 crore, instead of about . 8,600 crore estimated earlier. The escalation in cost is due to the additional 28-km stretch that is to be constructed to connect MTHL with the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The MMRDA was keen to bag this project, which is one of the biggest infrastructure projects to be undertaken in the country. In their presentation to the CM, officials from the development authority briefed him about their readiness to take on the mega project. According to senior MMRDA officials, the agency will proceed with preliminary preparations for the project. The authority will prepare a modified detailed project report (DPR) along with the request for proposals (RFP). Though the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, or MSRDC, was the planning authority for this transharbour link since 2004, the state government gave the project to MMRDA in 2006 and MSRDC was made the executing authority. In November 2008, the urban development department presented its report on the project to the then chief minister Ashok Chavan. Both Ambani brothers had filed tenders for this bridge. The entire matter went to the Supreme Court because of a dispute between the Ambani brothers. According to the tender by Anil Ambani’s company, the government would have gained ownership of the sea link after about 10 years, so the government decided to go for that. However, Anil Ambani’s company did not show any interest in the project after mid-2008. The government later decided that MMRDA would provide the economic support, but for a long time it did not specify who would carry out the construction. Now, the government has announced that MMRDA will construct the link.