The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) will be jointly executed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. Deciding on the financial model of and raising funds for the Rs7,600 crore project will be the MMRDA’s responsibility. The MSRDC will build the 22km road bridge, which will now have eight lanes instead of the earlier proposed six.
The state cabinet took a decision to this effect on Wednesday. Public works minister Anil Deshmukh said the project would be completed within five years of the date of starting work as major permissions have already been taken. The sea link has environmental clearance from the Centre as well as security clearance from institutions like the BARC.
The other options that the cabinet considered were to set up a special purpose vehicle for the project or to allot it entirely to the MSRDC. But given the MMRDA’s fund-raising ability, the cabinet decided to involve it in the project to ensure its early completion. The MMRDA is likely to raise funds through debt from the World Bank or the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Deshmukh said it could recover the money in three ways - “toll charges levied on vehicles plying on this corridor, improvement fees levied in Uran and Khopate, and development rights taken from the government for the Nhava belt.
Deshmukh tries, and fails, to project MSRDC plan: MSRDC’s attempt to make a presentation to the cabinet on skywalks came a cropper as the projector refused to work. MSRDC is executing 18 skywalks in the city, including one between Churchgate and CST. MSRDC has claimed that its skywalks will be far superior to those being erected by MMRDA. When PWD minister Anil Deshmukh tried to prove this with the presentation, the projector failed to work. The cabinet waited for 10 minutes while Deshmukh and MSRDC officials tried to get the projector going again. The meeting was adjourned an hour ahead of schedule.
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