Worli-Haji Ali link to get another push forward

Almost a year after the Bandra Worli Sea Link was inaugurated,the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is set to sign the concession agreement for the Worli-Haji Ali arm of the Western Freeway Sea Link by month-end.

Almost a year after the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) was inaugurated,the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is set to sign the concession agreement for the Worli-Haji Ali arm of the Western Freeway Sea Link by month-end. The 4.7-km sea link would be constructed by a consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Hyundai Engineering.

We will sign the concession agreement within a week with RInfra, confirmed Jaydutt Kshirsagar,Minister,Public Works Department (Public Undertakings). He added that no dates have been finalised but the Corporation would ink the deal by month-end. According to sources in the MSRDC,the concession agreement was expected to be signed by May 17. A year after the bids for were opened,the MSRDC awarded the contract to RInfra in February,days before the bid validity was to expire.

According to MSRDC,the construction is expected to start post-Diwali. Apart from the sea link,the concessionaire also has to construct a cloverleaf interchange from the north-carriageway of the sea link to the Worli-side. MSRDC official added the interchange would be given priority by the concessionaire as it would be beneficial as the BWSL was now fully operational; the entry and exit from the Worli-end are common.

Following signing of the agreement and achieving the financial closure,the concessionaire would make an upfront payment of Rs 1,634 crore to buy out the Bandra Worli Sea Link to start collecting toll.

Finally,water transport project bags a bid
MSRDCs passenger water transport (PWT) project on the western coast finally received its first bid on Monday,from M/s Pratibha Industries Ltd. The project,on the drawing board since 2002,envisages linking western water front from Nariman Point to Borivali with PWT terminals that have lounges,book stalls,refreshment halls & cafeteria. MSRDC had been trying to get bids in vain. We will evaluate if Pratibha Industries bid meets the criteria. It is natural for projects like PWT to get few bids because of its scale and risks. Now,with efforts of MSRDC,Mumbai can hope for a world-class water transport facility, said Subhash Nage,chief engineer,MSRDC.

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