The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will now be responsible for building the long delayed 22-km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) sea bridge project which will connect Nhava Sheva to Sewri. The MMRDA will appoint engineering and financial consultants to assist with the project. If all goes according to plan, construction on the project will begin by the end of 2012 and be completed within 6 years, with partial opening possible in 4 years. However, environmental groups have expressed concerns that the project will negatively impact flamingo populations in the area.

1. Infrastructure
MMRDA gets Nhava-Sewri link
By our Editorial Bureau April 08, 2011
The government's ambitious plan for building a sea link to connect Mumbai
with the mainland got a push on Thursday. After procrastinating for three years, the state government has decided to
ask the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to build the 22-km Mumbai Trans Harbour
Link (MTHL), which will link the city to Raigad district. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan made the announcement in the
Legislative Council on Thursday.
Replying to a debate on the city’s infrastructure, Chavan said the MMRDA would now focus exclusively on
infrastructure projects. “The MMRDA will implement the much-delayed MTHL project which connects Nhava Sheva to
Sewri. It will also appoint engineering and financial consultants to assist it,” said Chavan.
If everything goes as planned, work on the project will start by the end of 2012 and is likely to be completed in six
years with a partial opening in four years.
Interestingly, Chavan himself heads the MMRDA, which has been competing with the Maharashtra State Road
Development Corporation (MSRDC) to build the 22.5km sea bridge. However, Chavan’s coalition partner, the
Nationalist Congress Party that runs the MSRDC, have been vocal against the MMRDA.
In 2008, when the tender was first floated, there were two parties and the financial gap was huge and in 2009 the
tender did not get response due to global recession, Chavan said while explaining the delay.
Also, the feud between the government agencies added to the delay. In April 2010, the then chief minister Ashok
Chavan had asked urban development secretary TC Benjamin to prepare a report on which agency should be given
the project.
Meanwhile, the MMRDA said that it will appoint a consultant to finalise a detailed project report. The development
authority is looking at building the project on public-private partnership model.
“We will float bids for the project by November and hopefully award the contract by March 2012,” metropolitan
commissioner Rahul Asthana said
Tatas, GMR-L&T, 4 others in race for Trans-harbour
link project
Story
Comments (1)

2. Read more on »Tatas|MMRDA|GMR
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MUMBAI: The much-delayed Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link moved a bit closer to reality today with the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) saying that it has received six
pre-qualification bids, involving 18 companies, for the Rs 8,800-crore ambitious bridge.
The 18 companies that submitted six proposals, include the consortia led by Tata Realty &
Infrastructure-Autostrade Indian Infrastructure Development-Vinci Concessions
Development; GMRInfrastructure-L&T-Samsung C&T Corp; Gammon Infrastructure Projects-OHL
Concessions-GS Engineering; IL&FS Transportation Networks-Unity Infrastructure-Navayuga
Engineering Co-Rizzani DE Eccher spA; IRB Infrastructure Developers-Hyundai; and a consortium, led by
Cintra-Soma-Srie.

3. This development comes after 30 years since the project was first mooted.
"We are really happy that the project will now head to fruition," MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Rahul
Asthana said, adding the link will help the development of Navi Mumbai, Raigad district and the areas
around.
The Rs 8,800-crore Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link connects Sewri in the north-eastern part of the island city
to Nhava in Navi Mumbai across the eastern bay.
The 22-km-long link will have a 16.5-km bridge across Harbor and a 5.5-km long viaduct approaches on
the Sewri and Nhava sides.
Interchanges are proposed at Sewri to connect to the Eastern Freeway and at Chirle, to connect to the
NH 4B, the MMRDA said, adding that once completed, the project will be the longest sea bridge in the
country.
The project will be implemented on a public-private partnership model, based on design, build, finance,
operate and transfer basis. The Centre has agreed to offer 20 per cent of the project cost through a
viability gap funding.
Welfare of flamingos will cost
MMRDA Rs 300 crore more
By: Ranjeet Jadhav Date: 2012-03-21 Place: Mumbai
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MMRDA will use the additional money to design

4. a new alignment for the proposed MTHL sea link bridge, in order to protect
the flamingos that visit the Sewri mudflats
Soon after Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) received pre-qualification bids from six
companies for the long-pending Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) project, they will now spend money to
protect the habitat of flamingos at Sewri mudflats.
According to the earlier plan, the starting point of the bridge, Sewri, was envisaged at the ground level, but in
order to protect the flamingos, MMRDA will now construct the bridge on piers, which is the new design.
"As we will be constructing piers at the mudflats, the cost of the MTHL will go up by Rs 200-300 crore," said
MMRDA Chief Engineer Sharad Sabnis.
For the flamingos: The design for the Rs 8,800-cr Mumbai Trans
Harbour Link that connects Sewri in the island city to Nhava in Navi
Mumbai will be built on piers to protect the flamingos that descend on
the marshy mudflats in Sewri. file pics
The decision is crucial, as well-known environmental conservation body Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is
up in arms against the design of the sea link. They claim that the current design will destroy the haunt of the
wading birds. Taking cognizance of their concerns, and the public popularity of the flamingos, Rahul Asthana,
MMRDA commissioner, said "We have being saying from the beginning that we will take all precautionary
measures to protect the migratory birds. The bridge will be planned in such a manner that it will not disturb the
flamingos."
When informed about the environmentalists' concerns, who may approach the courts over the issue of
mangroves, which may hamper the construction, an MMRDA official said, " I don't think that anyone will approach
the courts as we are willing to do the best to solve the issue of flamingos, so there won't be a delay in the MTHL

5. project."
"There will be some impact on the flamingos when the construction is ongoing, but once the work is completed
there won't be any problems for the birds," said the official. However, environmentalists are of the opinion that
the new design too is likely to have an adverse impact on the ecology, especially the migratory birds.
Environmentalist Anand Pendharkar, director of NGO Sprouts, said, "The construction of the MTHL sea link will
adversely impact the population of the flamingos globally. When the actual construction starts, they will have to
relocate to a new place. Already their habitat in Uran and Vasai has been destroyed, and so the flamingos will
disperse to another location."
Trans-harbour link: Maharashtra govt ready to cover
revenue gap
Published: Sunday, Aug 28, 2011, 16:20 IST
Place: Mumbai | Agency: PTI
In an attempt to attract more bidders for the ambitious Rs10,000-crore Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) project
connecting Sewri in the northeastern part of the island city with Nhava Sheva (JNPT Port area), the state government has
proposed to cover the revenue risk of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) operator.
"We cannot take construction risk but we can definitely cover the revenue risk of the BOT operator. We plan to offer long, soft
loan to the BOT operator and also compensate the second and third lowest bidders (L2 and L3 bidders) for the cost of
bidding," MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority) Commissioner Rahul Asthana has said.
The government started the bidding process in 2004, but it has been unable to make any progress so far.
"This move will encourage more developers, including from overseas, to bid for the ambitious project. We believe that by the
third quarter of 2012 we will be able to award the contract," Asthana said.
MMRDA, the nodal government agency for infrastructure development in the city, is also ready to compensate the BOT
operator in the case of low toll collection against the projections, he said. "However, in the case of higher toll collection, the
BOT operator needs to share benefits with MMRDA," he said.
MSRDC -- state road development body -- which was earlier handling the project, made several attempts to invite bids in 2004
on BOT basis, and in 2008 on a design-build-contract basis.
In June 2008, separate bids by the Ambani brothers had been found unrealistic. Reliance Industries had bid for a 75 year
concession period, while the ADA Group quoted only a 10-year concession period. A cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure
had then recommended scrapping of the public-private-partnership model and executing the project on a cash contract basis.
As many as 13 companies showed interest, but did not submit bids.
In 2009, government decided to implement the project on a PPP model under viability gap funding scheme of Centre for which
an in-principle approval from the Cente was received in April 2009. State administration recently handed over the mandate of
the project to MMRDA.
The MTHL, which will connect Sewri to Nhava Sheva in Raigad district across the creek, is aimed at developing the mainland
and reducing the pressure on Mumbai.
The project consists of construction of a six-lane road-cum metro bridge. It will be then extended to the upcoming Navi
Mumbai airport, near the JNPT port near Panvel.

6. MTHL to be instrumental in horizontal expansion of Mumbai
Monday, August 08, 2011
Mumbai Trans-harbour link (MTHL), the 22-km creek bridge - from the sea front at Sewri to Chirle,
connecting NH-4B - is certain to provide much easier connectivity to the city of Mumbai and also
expected to offer economical growth to the whole of Raigad District and its surrounding areas.
The talk-of-the-town project had recently received overwhelming response for its techno-economic
feasibility study and the consortium of M/s Arup, Consulting Engineers and M/s KPMG has been
appointed as its offer was found to be lowest amongst the three agencies found eligible.
"Now that the consultants have been appointed we expect them to complete the techno-economic
study by October next year. While most of the work has already been done, we expect the
consultants to secure renewal of a few permissions and highlight other ground realities to pave way
for the actual construction of the project as per the schedule", said Rahul Asthana, Metropolitan
Commissioner, MMRDA.
The city, with its present population of over 12 million, generates about 14 million trips a day, with
about 88 per cent of the, trips catered to by the suburban railway and the public transport bus
services provided by Bombay Electricity Supply & Transport (BEST).
The existing Suburban Rail Service carries about 6 million passengers every day, while the public
bus transport system carries about 4.5 million passengers every day. The linear geography of
Mumbai has also acted as a constraint in the horizontal expansion of the city resulting in further
congestion during the peak hours. MTHL is expected to be instrumental in horizontal expansion of
the city bursting in seams.
Project conception
The alignment of the bridge was initially proposed by M/s Peter Frankel & Partners, UK in 1982 after
studying various alignment options including tunnels.
The alignment was shifted southwards in order to comply with BARC's requirement by the Expert
Committee appointed by Government of Maharashtra in 1984. This alignment was further modified
by CES to save mangroves on either side of the link, large skew crossings of submarine pipelines
and to satisfy the development plan finalized by the City and Industrial Development Corporation
Limited (CIDCO).
Project details

7. The Project consists of construction of a 8-lane bridge across the deep sea through the Mumbai
Harbour and connects to local road networks through approaches / interchanges at both ends. The
interchange on Sewri side is proposed to be taken up separately and is not covered in this contract
while a trumpet interchange is proposed on mainland for dispersal of traffic to National Highway 4B.
The total length of the link will be 22 km.
Project benefits
Navi Mumbai is also well connected through rail and road links with Pune, Nasik and Thane,
indicating the potential for the region to develop into a satellite city to Mumbai in a fashion similar to
the emergence of Gurgaon and Noida as satellites to New Delhi. CIDCO has prepared a master plan
for the development of Navi Mumbai. Current development covers only the northern half of Navi
Mumbai. The southern half is still untapped, principally because of the lack of easy access to
Mumbai city. The southern half of Navi Mumbai with over 2,500 hectares of land available for
housing presents an opportunity to decongest Mumbai. In this context, the proposed Mumbai Trans
Harbour Link (MTHL) connecting Sewri to Nhava Sheva is expected to be a catalyst of development
of the city by promoting horizontal growth as against the vertical growth experienced over the past
few years.
Project cost
The estimated base construction cost of the project based on experiences of similar bridges in India
is approximately Rs. 40,000 million. This includes the cost of approaches, the bridge across the sea,
bridge furniture, ancillary structures, traffic surveillance, illumination and environmental mitigation
measures, toll plaza, parking, etc. It also covers charges on account of design, supervision, and
administration by MSRDC.
30-year evil spell on trans-harbour link ends
Published: Tuesday, Mar 20, 2012, 8:00 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
The long-pending Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) project moved a little closer to reality with the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) saying that it has received six
pre-qualification bids, involving 18 companies, for it.
Earlier, attempts to start the Rs8,800 crore project involving the construction of India’s longest sea
bridge connecting the Island City with Navi Mumbai and Raigad have failed twice.

8. This development comes after 30 years since the project was first mooted.
The project was later handed over to the MMRDA from the Maharashtra State Road Development
Corporation Limited (MSRDC).
MMRDA commissioner Rahul Asthana said considering their past experience, they had tried to make
the bidders comfortable about “reduction of risk” in terms of revenue and construction to get good bids
for the MTHL.
“This is a giant step forward in terms of building the project, which has been hanging for decades,” said
Asthana. The construction, which would take around five years, would start next year, he said.
The MMRDA is also planning to award the construction contract by November.The project will get
40% viability gap funding (VGF) of which half will be given by the MMRDA and the rest by the
Centre.
The MMRDA is also planning to give the concessioner a soft loan to the tune of 20% of the project
cost. The project also has a real estate component.
The six-lane MTHL will have a 16.5km section in the sea and a 5.5 kilometre portion on land. It will
connect Sewri in Central Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai.
It will provide better linkages to the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport, Pune, Goa, the
growth centers in Raigad district, Konkan coastline and southern states.
It will also help movement of cargo from Mumbai Harbour and JNPT. The project, which will be
executed through public private partnership (PPP), will have a concession period of 45 years, including
the construction period, in which the company will collect toll.
The MTHL has claimed that the regional development project will seek to develop Navi Mumbai and
the mainland as a counter magnet to decongest Mumbai.
The 18 companies that submitted six proposals, include the consortia led by Tata Realty &
Infrastructure-Autostrade Indian Infrastructure Development-Vinci Concessions Development; GMR
Infrastructure-L&T-Samsung C&T Corp; Gammon Infrastructure Projects-OHL Concessions-GS
Engineering; IL&FS Transportation Networks-Unity Infrastructure-Navayuga Engineering Co-Rizzani
DE Eccher spA; IRB Infrastructure Developers-Hyundai; and a consortium, led by Cintra-
Soma-Srie.
Tatas, GMR-L&T in race for sea-link plan
The Maharashtra government’s infrastructure arm Mumbai Metropolitan Regional
Development Authority (MMRDA) is the nodal agency for the project
Leslie D’monte
Mumbai: Six consortiums have pre-qualified for Maharashtra government’s ambitious Mumbai Trans
Harbour Link (MTHL) connecting Sewri in the island city of Mumbai and Nava-Sheva across the Thane
creek. The length of proposed sea link is 22
kilometers and estimated to cost around Rs. 8,800
crore.
The six consortiums are led by Tata Realty and
Infrastructure Ltd., GMR Infrastructure Ltd., Spanish
company Cintra S.A., IRB Infrastructure Developers
Ltd. and IL&FS Transportation Network Ltd.

9. The Maharashtra government’s infrastructure arm Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development
Authority (MMRDA), also the nodal agency for the project, aims to complete the tendering process by
the end of this year and start the work on project early 2013. It is expected that it will take five years
to complete the work after which, it will reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Pune by at least
one hour.
Sewri-Nhava Sheva sea link buoys real estate prices in
'Third Mumbai'
Gouri Shah, TNN Dec 20, 2004, 11.55pm IST
The garish two-storey bungalows lining the sleepy roads of Uran Village are one indicator that the entry of
an ONGC plant and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) have brought ample opportunities for the
small fishing village in Raigad.
Things can only get better for the locals, as the clearance of the Rs 4,000-crore Sewri-Nhava Sheva
project, a 22-km sea link connecting its neighbouring area to the mainland, has finally come through. The
project will reduce the current road travel time of two hours from the mainland to as little as 30 minutes.
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While a sharp rise in real estate prices is expected in the future, land developers are witnessing a peculiar
phenomenon. The entire Panvel, Nhava Sheva, Uran belt, up to Alibaug has already started recording a
15-20% hike in real estate prices, and some areas such as Ulwe and Dronagiri near the JNPT, have seen
a 100% jump in prices over the past year.
While some of this activity could be attributed to the need for affordable space near Mumbai city, real
estate developers say that news of the proposed sea link is a major factor in spurring investment in the
area.
"The proposal for the sea link has created great buying interest in the Panvel, Nhava-Sheva, Uran belt up
to Alibaug, which is now being touted as the 'Third Mumbai,'" says Navi Mumbai-based developer Satish
Hawre, CMD of Hawre Engineers & Builders.
In his opinion, this is largely because areas such as Vashi in Navi Mumbai, have already started
commanding anywhere between Rs 10,000-30,000 per sq mt.

10. Revival of Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link
AUGUST 30, 2010
tags: infrastructure, MMRDA, MTHL, Mumbai Trans Harbour
Link,Nhava Sheva, Sea Link, sewri, Sewri Nhava Sheva
link, Sewri-Nhava Sheva Trans Harbour Link, SEZ
by Manoj John
The Mumbai Metropolitan
Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will take over the biggest
and most delayed infrastructure project — the Sewri-Nhava Sheva
Trans Harbour Link. After decades of deliberation, and unsuccessful
bid process by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to
get private participation, it is MMRDA’s mandate to organize for
funds to construct MTHL.
It is now proposed to extend the 22km link planned to connect
Sewri to Chirle village in Nhava, to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway,
by adding another 28kms. It will now join the Mumbai-Pune
Expressway somewhere near Khopoli. The extension translates to
about 500 Crores in expenses but would provide much better
connectivity.
The masterplan for Navi Mumbai development has seen partial
growth limited to the Northern part; the southern half is still
untapped, principally because of the lack of easy access to Mumbai
city. The southern half of Navi Mumbai with over 2,500 hectares of
land available for housing presents an opportunity to decongest
Mumbai. In this context, the proposed Mumbai Trans Harbour Link

11. (MTHL) connecting Sewri to Nhava Sheva is expected to be a
catalyst of development of the city by promoting horizontal growth
as against the vertical growth experienced over the past few years.
MTHL is designed to have a Metro rail line along the multi-lane
roadways, which may not be commissioned in the first phase of
construction. The cumulative impact of this infrastructure project
would benefit real estate development around origination zone in
Sewri. The imminent advantages of being located near MTHL and
hence faster reach to industrial units, SEZ, and Port will create
demand for residential projects with associated commercial & retail
components.
MMRDA bags Rs 11k cr project
Monday, April 11, 2011
Our Mumbai Bureau
Finally the verdict is out. The high profile Mumbai Trans harbour link (MTHL) project which was
mired in several hurdles has been handed over to Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development
Authority (MMRDA). The link will connect Sewri in South Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai.
The MMRDA may face many hurdles in constructing the 22km sea link as the road passes through
the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. It is not clear whether the project will get clearance from the ministry of

12. environment and forests (MoEF).According to MMRDA officials, the project cost will now escalate to
Rs 11,000 crore, instead of about Rs 8,600 crore estimated earlier. The escalation in cost is due to
the additional 28-km stretch that is to be constructed to connect MTHL with the Mumbai-Pune
Expressway. The MMRDA was keen to bag this project, which is one of the biggest infrastructure
projects to be undertaken in the country.
Rahul Asthana, the newly appointed MMRDA commissioner had earlier named MTHL as the top
priority project, if MMRDA succeeds in bagging it. "If MMRDA is chosen for the task, it would bring in
immense pride and a huge responsibility to our shoulders," he added.
The project will be executed in three phases. Phase I will include construction of main bridge with 6
lane facility fromSewri to Nhava including approaches at grade near Sewri end, interchange at Nh4B
near Chirle village and underpasses at road and railway crossings. The length of MTHL road project
from Sewri to NH-4B is 22 km. Phase II will consist of dispersal system at Sewri connecting Eastern
Freeway and Acharya Donde Marg to MTHL. Phase III will see construction of Metro
rail link from Sewri to Nhava and from Nhava to MMSEZ area near Pen, to Panvel via proposed Navi
Mumbai International Airport and to Uran.
Mah Govt to build Nhava Sheva-Sewri sea
link bridge on its own
Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 18:06 [IST]
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Mumbai, Jun 25 (UNI) The State Cabinet sub-committee has scrapped a tender submitted by
consortium of AnilAmbani-led Reliance Energy for construction of the trans-harbour Nhava
Sheva-Sewri sea link project, and the Maharashtra government has decided to build the Rs 6,000
crore ambitious project of six lanes, linking South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, on its own.
State PWD Minister Anil Deshmukh today said the decision to this effect had to be taken due to the
''feud'' between the two Ambani brothers -- Mukesh and Anil, who had submitted their tenders for the
same bridge, but Anil's bid was the lowest. The matter had earlier reached the Supreme Court also.
He said the decision to scrap the bid and construct the project by the government itself was taken,
as a new bid process would have created the same problems.
Mr Deshmukh said in order to construct the bridge, a special purpose vehicle would be formed, with
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) at the helm of affairs. Other
organisations like Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), MIDC and
CIDCO will also invest in the same.
He said the MSRDC has already started work from today. The proposal will be discussed with the
finance ministry and a proposal to this effect will be tabled before the Cabinet within a fortnight's
time.
It may be recalled that REL in its tender had submitted that it would collect the toll for nine years, 11
months and one day, while Mukesh Ambani-promoted Infrastructure Lease and Financial Services
(IL&FS) had sought 75 years time to collect the toll.
The PWD Minister said MSRDC has estimated 44 years as a time to collect the toll for the recovery
of the entire cost.
Road bodies vie for Trans Harbour link
Monday, March 07, 2011

14. Competition between Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and Maharashtra State
Road Development Corporation will reduce metro tariff and toll rates for Mumbai Trans Harbour Link.
The Congress and NCP leaders are likely to decide on who will get the ambitious Mumbai Trans
Harbour Link(MTHL) project, which is a 21 km Nhava-Sewri sea link. Both the agencies presented
their projects by Wednesday.
The MSRDC's has proposed a toll of Rs 205 for a one-way journey. The plan outlines a unique
double-decker structure which will have the road above and the Metro running below. It has pegged
the cost of the project at Rs 8,000 crore and a toll recovery period of 45-50 years. It has also
proposed a 15% increase in toll tax every year. The MMRDA, on the other hand, has said it will build
the bridge-with six lanes for vehicles and two for the Metro-at the cost of Rs 8,311 crore and will take
45 years to recover the money through toll collections. The MMRDA has priced the toll between Rs
105 -Rs 210.