MMRDA officials made it clear at a high-level meeting at Mantralaya yesterday that they are unable to proceed with the Rs 7,000 crore Sewri-Nhava Sheva Sea Link for want of funds.
MMRDA officials made it clear at a high-level meeting at Mantralaya yesterday that they are unable to proceed with the Rs 7,000 crore Sewri-Nhava Sheva Sea Link for want of funds. Not only has the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) expressed its helplessness in obtaining 80 per cent funding, it has also communicated its inability to fund the remaining 20 per cent of the project cost.
|
|
DUMPED: An artist's impression of the 22-km Sewri-Nhava Sheva Sea Link |
"With the global slowdown, it could get difficult to recover the investment in the Sea Link through toll. We are looking for partners like the BMC to share the toll once the Sea Link is build, but the chances of a deal materalising appear bleak," said a senior MMRDA official.
Initially, in a plan that was later revised, the Centre was to fund 40 per cent of the project cost, and the remaining 60 per cent was to be equally divided between the state government, BMC and MMRDA.
The Sea Link hit a high hurdle after a consortium of construction companies that had initially indicated interest in the prestigious project did not bid for the project.
Nobody responded to the global tender floated by the government either. The 22-km six-lane proposed Sea Link is expected to connect the island city to the mainland at Nhava Sheva across Mumbai harbour.
How Ambani brothers competed over the Link
Initially, the Ambani bothers had shown interest to build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) of the 22-km Sewri-Nhava Sheva Sea Link. While Anil claimed he would build the bridge on BOOT basis and recover the money in 10 years, elder brother Mukesh wanted a much longer u00a0time to recover the u00a0u00a0money his company had invested.
The government turned down both proposals as not being viable.
Other consortiums across the globe did not find the project attractive after they became aware of delays in payment during the ongoing construction of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
