Coastal road project gets central clearance

Mumbai finally came closer to its dream of a coastal road skirting the Arabian Sea from South Mumbai to the western suburbs, with the union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) clearing the decks for construction to begin this year.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted that the coastal road had received the final environment clearance from the Centre. "This coastal road will ease the congestion of western expressway and give a faster and smoother ride to Mumbaikars," he said, adding that they had secured the necessary clearance in two years.

"This was the final clearance... now that the rains are coming in, any time after October-November, we should be able to get the work off the ground," Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation chief Ajoy Mehta told DNA, adding that the request for quotation (RFQ) stage was over and the final tenders would be scrutinised now.

The 29.22-km project, to be built in phases, will connect Marine Drive to Kandivli and is expected to cost Rs 15,000 crore. However, the final price discovery will be based on the finalised tenders. The eight-lane freeway will involve reclaimed and elevated roads, bridges and undersea tunnels, and users may have to pay toll for using it.

Mehta said the road will start from the Princess Street flyover on Marine Drive and go underground (below the sea) at Girgaum Chowpaty to emerge at Priyadarshani Park. From there, it will go along the coast to and connect to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL).

"Ahead of Bandra, the alignments are being worked out," added Mehta. The BMC has two options on the table — the road can merge with the proposed Bandra-Versova Sea Link being built by the Maharashtra State Roads Development Corporation (MSRDC) or chalk out its own Greenfield alignment. The coastal road will end at Kandivli and will be financed through its own kitty from sources like funds collected from fungible FSI.

"The road can be executed fast as it involves only reclamation and no removal of encroachments. We expect it to be commissioned in four years from the date of foundation," said a senior state government official.

He added that once the road was constructed, they could also consider the use of multi-modal transit systems like BRTS on it. The official noted that the project had been given a push by the war room set up by the chief minister's office to review crucial infrastructure projects.

How it's planned

The Mumbai coastal road is proposed in two parts, from the Princess Street flyover to the southern end of the BWSL (9.98km) and the northern end of the BWSL to Kandivli (19.22). It will have 11 inter-connections to the city. The BMC had issued the RFQ for shortlisting bidders for the 9.98 km southern part from the Princess Street flyover to the Worli end of the BWSL.

The BMC had planned the coastal road to provide an alternative north-south connectivity. It was at the planning stage since March 2014, and consultants were appointed to check the project's feasibility.
The MoEF published a final notification in December 2015 for allowing the construction of road by reclamation in CRZ areas as an exceptional case.

In 2016, the Maharashtra government had signed a MoU with the Netherlands government for obtaining technical advice for the project.
In April, the MOEF expert panel recommended clearance for the southern end.