21.5.15

MTHL snippets

Chinese state-owned infrastructure companies have shown interest in building the Rs.11,000-crore Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, which is a sea link that will connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who had just returned from his recent visit to China, said that Chinese companies are ready not just to construct, but also finance the project.
“Chinese companies are ready to build the bridge within 3 to 4 years,“ said Fadnavis.
The chief minister said that if a Chinese firm gets the contract to build the link, then it would even fund the project through the Chinese Concessional Fund. China would charge an interest of 2-6% for the project.
But the Maharashtra government would have to follow a bidding process and can't give the contract to a Chinese company without following this method.
While the Maharashtra government has managed most of its clearances related to the project, it is still struggling to arrange finances.
The state was relying on the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) for funding the MTHL project, but is yet to get a response from Japan in this regard. “The Japanese follow their own process that can take long. However, once the decisions are taken, they implement it quickly,“ Fadnavis said on Wednesday.
This suggests that Japan has still not decided if it would fund the MTHL or not. It's not just MTHL, but other projects such as the coastal road in Mumbai's western suburbs is also facing funding issues.

No comments: