E-Paper
Trans-harbour link study commissioned
A consortium of Arup Consulting Engineers and KPMG has been appointed as consultants to undertake the techno-economic feasibility study for India's longest bridge, the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL).
A consortium of Arup Consulting Engineers and KPMG has been appointed as consultants to undertake the techno-economic feasibility study for India's longest bridge, the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL).
The executive committee of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Tuesday appointed the consortium after its bid emerged as the lowest.
"We expect them to complete the techno-economic study by October next year," metropolitan commissioner Rahul Asthana said.
The consultants will help in undertaking the techno-economic feasibility study with regards to the design of the bridge and will also help in getting regulatory clearances from the government.
The planning authority plans to float tenders by the end of next year and expects the project to be complete in six years. In the first phase, the planning authority plans to make the trans-harbour link partially operational, three lanes and in six years, where the entire six-lane bridge would be ready.
Once completed, the six-lane bridge will not only provide a new access to Navi Mumbai but will also help in improving connectivity towards Pune. The MMRDA, as part of its MTHL construction plans, is also looking at linking up the bridge to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway by creating a green field road till Khopoli.
It is also looking at a traffic dispersal system whereby it creates direct link between the MTHL and the Bandra-Worli sea link. As many as seven consultancy firms had submitted bid documents in response to the proposal of the planning authority.
Following this, three firms were found eligible — Arup-CES-KPMG, Louis Berger-CCCC-Deloitte and Mott MacDonald-PWC, of which Arup-CES-KPMG finally bagged the award for scoring maximum marks in the evaluation criteria and offering the lowest bid.
