The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) on Tuesday signed a ₹6,993-crore EPC agreement with Reliance Infrastructure Ltd for constructing the Versova-Bandra sea link project.

The project, which is primarily a sea bridge, will connect suburban Bandra with Versova. The total sea link length will be 17.17 km, out of which the bridge length will be 9.6 km. The overall project cost is ₹11,332 crore. The eight-lane sea link will be able to carry two lakh cars daily.

Travel time

A vehicle now takes about 90 minutes to traverse the distance at peak hours. The sea link is expected to drastically reduce the travel time. A commuter travelling from western suburb to South Mumbai will be able to seamlessly connect to the existing Bandra-Worli sea link and vice versa.

Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of MSRDC Radhyesham Mopalwar told mediapersons that the project has received all major project clearances, including environmental clearances. A large part of the bridge over land will be built on the existing nullahs (stormwater channels), which will obviate the requirement for fresh land acquisition, he said.

Mopalwar said that out of the total project cost (₹11,332 crore), about 20 to 30 per cent would be equity component, while the rest would be raised as a loan by MSRDC. For providing better connectivity to commuters, the project has undergone three major improvisations. The length of Versova-Bandra sea link leg is three times more than that of the existing Bandra-Worli sea link, which is 5.6 km.

Italian partner

Reliance Infrastructure is building the sea link in a consortium with Astaldi company of Italy, which has international experience in building such bridges on open seas.

Reliance Infrastructure-Astaldi has to commission the project in five years.

CEO of Reliance Infrastructure, Lalit Jalan said that since it is a project awarded on EPC basis, there is no operating or revenue implication for Reliance Infrastructure.

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