Mumbai trans-harbour link project: 29 firms reach final stage of bidding

The construction of the 22-km link, which will connect Sewri and Nhava, has been divided into three parts

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has shortlisted 29 companies, including engineering giants Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co. Ltd, for final stage of bidding for the Rs17,750-crore Mumbai trans-harbour link (MTHL) project.

The construction of the 22-km link, which will connect Sewri and Nhava, has been divided into three parts. (Pic for Representation)

The construction of the 22-km link, which will connect Sewri and Nhava, has been divided into three parts. The first two are sea-bridge components, while the third is for construction of a road up to Chirle. The sea bridge will be 16.5-km long.

According to MMRDA officials, M/s. AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd, Hindustan Construction Co Ltd, L&T, M/s Simplex Infrastructures Ltd, M/s.Soma Enterprises Ltd, etc have qualified to request for proposal (RfP) stage.

M/s. J.Kumar Infraprojects Ltd., named in the civic body’s first information report on irregularities in road construction, has qualified for the third part, which entails constructions of a 3.813-km road. The qualified companies have to submit the RFPs by April 5.

Senior MMRDA officials said they plan to award the contract by June, so the actual construction can start after the monsoon. “Contractors can start work by October. Our plan is to finish it by 2019-end. It will take around four years,” said an official, who did not wish to be named. Meanwhile, the encroachments at Chirle village at Navi Mumbai, where around 138 hectares are required, are being cleared. “It is [the land] in the final stages of getting cleared. We should get the plot in a month or two,” the official said, adding the Mumbai Port Trust has handed over the land for the project.