Daily News and Analysis

Mumbai, Mar 13: With work on the Worli-Bandra sea link reaching the halfway mark, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is studying the feasibility of extending it from Bandra to Gorai.

The MSRDC has invited bids from consultants for a pre-feasibility tender for the proposed sea link. PWD Minister Anil Deshmukh said the bids will be opened on Friday and a decision on the consultant taken within 15 days.

Officials told DNA that they will have a clear idea in four months whether such a link connecting all of the western suburbs by sea would be viable.

The MSRDC has already received environmental clearance for extending the sea link from Worli to Nariman Point through a six-lane bridge. At 2006 prices, the project is estimated to cost Rs3,150 crore.

“We are aiming at decongestion, and extension of the sea link to Gorai is a natural step towards it,” said Deshmukh, who is also chairman of the MSRDC. “The design and nature of the new connectivity would depend on what the consultants tell us.”

Deshmukh said sea connectivity from the island city to the far end of the western suburbs would reduce the pressure on the existing north-south western corridor, which is highly congested. The congestion often causes bottlenecks on multiple locations.

“We may also look into the option of connecting Nariman Point to Sewree, since the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) from Sewree to Nhava Sheva is in its final bidding stage,” he said.