In Mumbai: Coastal road project gets fifth consultant

The ambitious Rs12,000-crore coastal road project is all set to get a new consultant for general administration work, which is usually the responsibility of the civic body.

The ambitious Rs12,000-crore coastal road project is all set to get a new consultant for general administration work, which is usually the responsibility of the civic body.

Compared to the major infrastructure work that BMC undertakes, the coastal road has the highest number of consultants. (HT File Photo)

This will take the total number of consultants for the project to five.

The new consultant, who will be appointed for Rs34 lakh, will work as a coordinator and will mostly do the managerial work and coordination for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). It will also look into the work of three contractors who will construct the south phase of the project from Princess Street to Bandra.

Compared to the major infrastructure work that BMC undertakes, the coastal road has the highest number of consultants. Around Rs600 crore will be spent on consultants itself. One was appointed to prepare the document and another one to review it. Two consultants were appointed to carry out geo-technical survey and tidal pattern study for the south phase and they would be paid Rs10 crore each .

The civic body had appointed a consultant to study the wave patterns and the impact of the coastal road project on marine lines and another to study the detail project report.

The coastal project will be constructed in two phases -- the south phase is between Princess Street flyover near Marine Lines and Carter Road in Bandra and the north phase is from Bandra to Kandivli.

The civic body said that the foundation stone for the first phase will be laid by next monsoon after completion of the tender process by March next year.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray inspected the site with municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta in November.

The civic body plans to construct a 29.2-km coastal road from Princess Street flyover in Marine Lines to Kandivli. It have eight lanes with two dedicated bus lanes for Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS).

The coastal road will connect the western suburbs along the coast with undersea tunnels, roads on reclaimed land and elevated road. The project will reclaim around 186 hectares of land, out of which, 91 hectares will be developed as green space.

The BMC has already received eight no-objection certificates from various agencies and its departments.

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