Urban dept nod to loan worth Rs 2,649 cr gives push to Mumbai-Pune connectivity project

The extension from Chirle to Mumbai-Pune Expressway will also address the bottleneck at Navi Mumbai caused by the narrow lane connectivity, leading to smooth traffic movement between Mumbai and Pune, officials said.

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MTHL is a 21.8-kilometer-long sea-link project that will connect South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai. The project is being executed at an approximate cost of Rs 18,000 crore. So far, over 76 per cent of the work on the MTHL has been completed and the MMRDA is planning to wind up the work before December 2023 and ready the link for public use.

As part of the new extension project, MMRDA will improve the road network to speed up vehicular traffic to and from Pune and Goa. “A new 1.5 km long road will be constructed. Besides, two roads of 2.5 km length will be widened and additionally, four interchanges of about six kilometers length will be built to connect MTHL to Mumbai-Pune Expressway. There is also a plan to build a tunnel and make a road, but no decision has been taken yet,” said an official.

During the recent authority meeting and budget of the MMRDA , a fund of Rs 947 crore was approved.

“To implement the project, the MMRDA needs funds within a stipulated time and hence the state government has allowed the authority to raise a total loan of Rs 2,649 crore from the Mega City Scheme-Revolving Fund (MCS-RF),” the senior government official said.

A government resolution (GR) in the regard was issued on May 18.

Recently, the MMRDA had also floated a tender for appointing a consultant to prepare a Detailed Project Report for the linkage. According to the basic plan, as the MTHL will land into Chirle in Navi Mumbai, a six-kilometre link will be connected to the expressway.

An official said, “This will help the commuters directly reach Pune from Worli in South Mumbai without getting stuck in the traffic and will also save travel time by over an hour. There is also a plan of linking MTHL to National Highway-17, which would go towards Bengaluru”.