The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has said that four companies LEA Associates South Asia, Salzmann Ingenierue ZT GmbH, Ardanuy Ingeniería SA and MDP Consulting France have evinced interest to carry out a detailed project report of a ropeway project. The project will connect Gorai village with the newly launched Metro Line 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar) at Mahavir Nagar Metro station. The proposed 7.8-km ropeway will connect Mahavir Nagar Metro station on Line 2A with Pagoda in Gorai. The said connectivity is expected to promote tourism and also provide easy connectivity to villagers of Gorai, the other side of the creek, as villagers have to depend on ferry service or take a longer road route. Once operational, the ropeway will cut travel time from one and half hours to 40 minutes. MMRDA had first proposed the ropeway in 2019 wherein tenders were also floated on design, finance, build, operate and transfer basis. Two companies bid, but the proposal was kept on hold as MMRDA decided to prioritise other ongoing projects. The Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Ltd (IPRCL) had prepared a DPR of the proposed ropeway corridor, and had cited the efficacy of New York, Columbia and Turkey ropeways. The proposed ropeway will have minimal impact on mangroves, it said in its report. Now as Metro Lines 2A & 7 (35-km stretch) is opened to the public with more than a lakh commuters daily, MMRDA is focusing on improving last-mile connectivity to increase ridership. As a part of it, the ropeway plan has once again been revived by MMRDA, which is proposed to be taken up on PPP (public private partnership) model to make it cost effective.
