2 coastal road projects for a seamless link to Navi Mumbai airport and beyond

The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) in India is set to begin work on two road projects, the Ulwe Coastal Road (UCR) and Kharghar Coastal Road (KCR), to ensure seamless connectivity to the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport. The UCR will connect the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link to the airport and received permission to cut 3,728 mangroves. The KCR will connect the Kharghar node to the CBD Belapur node and is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Both projects are expected to be completed by early 2026.

With an aim to ensure seamless connectivity to the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) and other mega projects in the region, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) is set to start work on two road projects - Ulwe Coastal Road (UCR) and Kharghar Coastal Road (KCR).

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For the six-lane UCR, the planning agency this month received permission from the Bombay high court to cut 3,728 mangroves.

According to Anil Diggikar, vice chairman and managing director of CIDCO, one of the most vital links planned is UCR, which will connect the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) to the NMIA, through an elevated link road. “It is the key to seamless connectivity to the upcoming airport and thus very important for the commercial success of the airport.”

The 5.8-km-long road will start at Amra Marg and end at the MTHL junction located in Shivaji Nagar, Ulwe. It will also have an elevated link road of 1.2 km and a railway overbridge over the Nerul-Uran suburban railway line and Amra Marg, both of which will connect to the airport, officials aware of the plan said.

Diggikar said, “We recently received the environment and forest clearance from the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) for UCR. We then applied to the high court seeking permission to fell mangroves. We have, this month, received that permission too. The road is being built on stilts to ensure minimum footprint in the mangroves area. The replantation will be done in consultation with the mangrove cell.”

“We have applied for working permission from the forest department. Work on the project should start soon,” he added.

The project is expected to cost around ₹1,400 crore, double the ₹700 crore estimated earlier, due to a change in the design. It will take 24 months for completion. The CIDCO had appointed a consortium of J Kumar-JMM as contractors two years ago, for the first phase of the project on land where there are no mangroves. A tender for the stilt work on the area with mangroves is expected to be called soon.

KCR, on the other hand, will connect the Kharghar node in sector 16 to sector 11 in the CBD Belapur node. The project, which has already received the MCZMA approval, is presently with the MoEFCC for clearance following which the CIDCO will approach the high court for permission.

Diggikar said it is an important link for traffic between the NMIA and all other parts of Navi Mumbai, including the International Corporate Park (ICP) being developed on the lines of Bandra Kurla Complex and the passenger water terminal at Nerul.

“The urban arterial road with a grade separated interchange over the Sion-Panvel highway will ensure high-speed connectivity to the ICP, golf course, FIFA standard centre of excellence, PMAY housing at Kharghar and other projects,” he said.

The road will be 9.6-km-long and 30 metres in width. Though the project was initially estimated to cost ₹300 crore, it is expected to be revised due to changes planned in the design and other factors.

The CIDCO MD said, “The link, out of which only 6.96 km is to be newly developed, is planned to decongest the Sion-Panvel highway.”

Both are green field projects with no obstacles, and the CIDCO is hopeful of completing them by early 2026, Diggikar said.