Mumbai’s coastal road a step closer to reality; bidders get deadline
Civic officials said the deadline for contractors to submit their bids has been fixed on October 31 and the financial bids will be assessed by December 4.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has again said that it would start work on the ambitious coastal road project early next year.
The process of awarding contracts for the project, which has been undertaken simultaneously for three phases, has entered the final stage.
Civic officials said the deadline for contractors to submit their bids has been fixed on October 31 and the financial bids will be assessed by December 4.
A senior civic official said, “The work on ground is likely to begin early next year.”
The bids will be submitted by 17 bidders, who have qualified in the first stage.
The Rs15,000-crore project will connect Mumbai’s western suburbs to the island city and will be 29.2 kms long.
The first phase from Princess Street flyover to Bandra-Worli Sea link will have three different works.
Motorists take around three hours to go from the island city to western suburbs.
Meant to ease traffic congestion, the project will be a combination of under-sea tunnels, elevated roads and roads on reclaimed land.
On Monday, civic officials said the contractors had also raised queries in the pre-bid conference.
For the three works, the BMC received 774 queries from contractors — 50% of the queries were contractual, 25% on technical issues, 20% on commercial items and 5% on pricing, goods and services tax (GST) and duties.
Till date, the BMC has received 17 clearances from agencies such as fisheries, coastal management, Indian Navy, Coast Guard, coastal police and the central government’s environment ministry.
The municipal corporation had also undertaken studies in storm surge, wave heights and tsunami heights for the coastal road project.