MUMBAI: THE MUCH-HYPED WORLI-HAJI ALI SEA LINK MAY BE SCRAPPED AS THE MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO BE INCLINED TOWARDS BUILDING CHEAPER COASTAL ROADS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE EXPENSIVE SEA-LINKS.
"COASTAL ROADS ARE CHEAPER. WHY SHOULD WE GO IN FOR SEA-LINKS (LIKE WORLI-HAJI ALI)? WE ARE DISCUSSING THE COASTAL ROAD PROPOSAL WITH THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (MOEF)," MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT'S CHIEF SECRETARY, RATNAKAR GAIKWAD SAID AT A SEMINAR HELD HERE ON SATURDAY.
The recent Coastal Regulation Zone norms, which have come into effect, permit construction of coastal (or arterial) roads on stilts. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), had, last year, signed a build-operate-transfer concession agreement with the Anil Ambani-led firm RelianceInfrastructure (RInfra) to construct the 8-lane Worli-Haji Ali Sea-Link.
"Though some work on the project is on, the government can still rethink over it and shift to the coastal road alternative as it is much cheaper," Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU) Project Director, U P S Madan said at the seminar.
RInfra has formed a consortium with Hyundai Engineering and Construction to construct the 5.5-km Sea-Link at a cost of around Rs 5,100 crore. "If the Ministry (of environment and forests) permits,
then we will take a call on how to execute it," Madan said. (PTI )
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