GMLR Phase IV approved with ₹800-cr cost escalation

BMC approved the GMLR's fourth phase with costs rising from ₹1,293 to ₹2,113 crores, aiming to cut travel time from Goregaon to Mulund to 20 minutes.

MUMBAI: In its first meeting since the civic body elections, the standing committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday approved the fourth phase of the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR), with a cost escalation of over ₹800 crores.

Mumbai, India - January 25, 2026: A view of the ongoing Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, January 25, 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The cost in the fourth phase rose from an initial estimate of ₹1,293 crores to ₹2,113 crores. It was passed without discussion or debate in the meeting on Friday, held after a gap of four years.

The GMLR, considered a prestigious project of the BMC, is being implemented in four phases. Once ready, it is expected to reduce travel time between Goregaon and Mulund from 90 minutes to 20 minutes. This project involves underground twin tunnels passing under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Aarey Colony.

In its 2025-26 budget, the BMC had made a provision for ₹1,100 crores and another ₹2650 crores in its 2026-27 budget for the first three phases of the project, 48% of which is complete, including 18% of tunnelling work.

The fourth phase of GMLR includes a 180-metre highway crossing with 5+5 lanes with a viaduct of 24.4 metres (3+3 lanes) proposed for the remaining parts. This phase also involves improving 1600 metres of existing roads between Nahur and the Airoli toll plaza.

The contract was awarded to a joint venture of M/s Akshaya Infraprojects and Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) Ltd, which had put out a bid of ₹1,382 crores. As soon as the cost escalation was tabled, Ashraf Azmi, Congress group leader, objected to it, saying, “It is not clear why a reputed company such as HCC, which has an annual turnover of ₹5000, teamed up with M/s Akshaya Infraprojects. This JV is part of a cartel deal that the administration is ignoring.”

Azmi’s objection was, however, ignored, and the budget passed.

Chairperson of the Standing committee Prabhakar Shinde said that the budget for the fourth phase was passed as “it was a dream project pushed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, and we did not wish to delay the pace of the progress”.

The GMLR offers connectivity between the city’s eastern and western suburbs, and promises to ease traffic congestion by winding its way through underground tunnels below SGNP. Shinde attributed the cost escalation to multiple clearances from the state and central governments since the project is spread across salt pan land, mangroves and forest land.

While Fadnavis had stated that the GMLR will be completed by 2028, the proposal on Friday stated that it will be completed only by 2029.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project has also seen a cost escalation from the original ₹100,00 crore approximately to ₹190,800 crore. The first, 50-km operational stretch (Surat-Bilimora) of the entire 508-km corridor is targeted to be completed in 2027.