India: The Maharashtra BJP on Monday put out a video claiming that the state government will throw open the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), which is India’s longest sea bridge, for public use on December 25. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) – the nodal agency for constructing the project — expressed surprise over the “difficult” deadline as many works were pending.
The 21.8-km-long MTHL, which will be India’s longest sea bridge, will connect Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai. The bridge, of which 16.11 km has been built on water, will have six lanes, each 3.5 metres wide.
Terming it a “dream project” of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the 1.17-minute video by the state BJP states, “The touch of ‘Vikas Dev’ is turning Mumbai into a city of gold.” However, the Maharashtra government has not yet announced the inauguration of the bridge — a project that had been going on for decades. Visiting the MTHL in June this year, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis had driven a vehicle on its deck.
According to MMRDA officials, several components of the project that are necessary to make the stretch fit for vehicular traffic are yet to be fixed and that it would be difficult to meet the December-25 deadline.They said while the deck work is mostly complete, package 4 of the project, which involves setting up of the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) that includes Toll and Transport Management System and Equipment Installation are, is yet to be complete and was unlikely to meet the December 25 deadline. The tender for setting up these systems was given in April this year.
