The development of Bandra- Versova sea link will begin soon – MSRDC.

By Abhay Shah, Realty Quarter

Building the Bandra-Versova Sea Link will commence as soon as the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has appointed Reliance Infrastructure to build this 17.17-km route. At the price of Rs.7,000 crore, the sea link, which is three times the length of this Bandra-Worli sea link, will be built. The link is a toll route, and in the next five years, it will be developed and functional.

The state government in the past had given Rs.2,500 crore as gap funding, that is obtained as a premium for extra floor space index, sold to real estate developers, in order to fast track the long-awaited infrastructure project.

The route would extend the current Bandra-Worli Sea link. After its completion, people can skip the Western Express Highway and can use sea links for commuting while coming from a western suburb of Mumbai to south of Mumbai. This will act as connectors at Bandra, Otters Club, the Juhu Link Road and the Versova Link Road.

At present, people are required to travel along the Western Express Highway from the Western suburbs of Borivali, Andheri, Juhu, Mahim, etc which is congested and time-consuming to reach south of Mumbai. During peak office hours, the trip generally requires 60-90 minutes. The new route would reduce travel time to 12 minutes. A sequence of roads and tunnels are anticipated to further enhance the connectivity.

In addition, the MSRDC proposed three connectors to ensure fewer jams at the locations where vehicles are entering and exiting this new sea link. The first connector will operate between Bandstand road in Bandra and VBSL, and the other two will connect the Western Express Highway (WEH). One would connect the WEH from the area of Juhu-Koliwada via Milan flyover. The other would link Nana Nani Park to the WEH in Versova, close to the Bisleri plant on the CD Barfiwala Road in Andheri (East).

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) approved the sea link in 2009. The actual project cost was Rs.5,975 crore, now extended to Rs.7,000 crore. It took four years for the state government to obtain approval from the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and Environment Ministry, lastly outlined in January 2013. In April 2016, CM Fadnavis directed the MSRDC to build it on the basis of engineering and procurement.

The new route could change the real estate industry in Mumbai by enhancing the connectivity between the suburbs and the primary commercial area. Mid-segment purchasers would take the opportunity to buy a house near Versova areas like Kandivali, Borivali and Mira Road, with the travelling time getting reduced to 12 minutes from 60 minutes at a projected toll tax of Rs.60. The congested area of Andheri, Chembur, Ville Parle is anticipated to be decongesting with increased connectivity from the farther area and to reduce the unnecessary stress on the express highways.