This thread is for discussion and of the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link.

The link is an extension from the Bandra Worli Sea Link, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link or in simple words, BWSL.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/Web/HTMumbai/Article/2009/07/09/003/09_07_2009_003_004.jpg

Source: Hindustan Times

junior ambani must not be paying the politicos what they expect as their cut

Hi guys, am new to the forum so this might be a stupid question but are the renders/plans for worli-haji ali already known ? Where is the sea link exit on the Haji ali side planned ? What are the expected causes for delay ? This one should be easier than the Bandra-worli link, right ? Considering it may not have to be cable stayed due to the absence of any fishermens village ?

shanware, welcome aboard SSC India.

are the renders/plans for worli-haji ali already known?

nope


Where is the sea link exit on the Haji ali side planned?


It hasn't been released yet but I reckon it will hit the seaface just north of the dargah. BB, can you confirm?



What are the expected causes for delay ?

lack of planning followed by the slow process of tendering. Reliance infra emerged as the preferred bidder but the MSRDC had second thoughts. There should be an announcement on this in the upcoming week.


This one should be easier than the Bandra-worli link, right ? Considering it may not have to be cable stayed due to the absence of any fishermens village ?

affirmative

thanks man ...appreciate it :)

Another quick question ...do we know if the folks at Haji Ali are on board ? or are we expecting another PIL ?

How long will it take to build once approved?

^Well looking at the way the BWSL went probably 6-8 years. Lets hope this one goes faster and doesn't run into any hurdles anylong the way.

Another quick question ...do we know if the folks at Haji Ali are on board ? or are we expecting another PIL ?

There hasn't been any brouhaha against it, so it looks all clear.

How long will it take to build once approved?

The bidding concluded last month with Reliance Infra emerging as the preferred bidder. It'll take 3-4 for the construction to finish once started.

^Well looking at the way the BWSL went probably 6-8 years. Lets hope this one goes faster and doesn't run into any hurdles anylong the way.

More like 3-4 years. There won't be any major cable stayed portion (most probably no minor aswell) so it should be built quite fast.

...More like 3-4 years. There won't be any major cable stayed portion (most probably no minor aswell) so it should be built quite fast.
awesome!

BWSL: a speedbreaker for traffic on 2nd carriageway
Swapnil Rawal
Mon, Aug 3 06:34 AM


The second carriageway of the Bandra Worli Sea Link is most likely to be completed by the end of the year, but motorists may have to wait for another 18 months to use it.

A cloverleaf connector from the Worli-end has to be built first from the second carriageway, and this is not part of the BWSL-contract awarded to Hindustan Construction Company.

The connector would be constructed by the contractor who bags the next arm of the Western Freeway project—the Worli Haji Ali Sea Link. The contract for the Worli Haji Ali Sea Link is still to be awarded as it is awaiting the nod from the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure.

"We are working to find out on how to use the second carriageway in the meantime, till the connector is built by the Worli-Haji Ali contractor. The Committee has not met yet to decide the Worli Haji Ali Sea Link-bid," Vimal Mundada, Minister Public Works Department (public undertakings) told Newsline.

According to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) officials, the proposed 1.5-km connector would take at least 18 to 20 months to be constructed.

A senior MSRDC official added, "We can use the second carriageway and make use of one of the escape connectors to divert traffic to the first carriageway, but so far, no decision has been taken as it could lead to congestion. Till the connector is built the use of second carriageway is doubtful."

The cloverleaf interchange would loop over the south-bound carriageway and connect at the Worli-end, near Thadani junction. The four-lanes of the sea link have been put into operation from July 1.

The Anil Ambani-led consortium is the frontrunner for the 3.6-km WHSL contract.

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd with Hyundai has quoted lower viability gap fund (VGF) against Hindustan Construction Company-Samsung and John Laing.

When asked when the contract is likely to be awarded, Mundada said, "The meeting is expected in the coming week. It would take around a month-and-a-half to finish formalities like Letter of Intent, etc."


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Interview with Ashok Chavan on NDTV (Walk the talk with Shekhar Gupta)

http://www.tubaah.com/details.php?video_id=96288

Says Worli-Haji Ali sea link should be awarded in the next 10 days. The other arms of the Western freeway may be awarded only after the elections. Theres also talk about the Peddar road flyover.

Waiting.

As expected, just before the code of conduct comes into effect :)...By the way does Reliance Infrastructure have any expertise conducting Bridges ? Who else is on the consortium, anybody know ?


Haji Ali link: contract set to be cleared this week
Express News Service Posted: Aug 17, 2009 at 0141 hrs

Mumbai Clearance for a key infrastructure project is expected this week, just before the code of conduct for the Assembly polls comes into effect, possibly by the last week of August.
The contract for the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link, second arm of the Western Freeway project, is awaiting the Chief Minister’s nod. The decision has been pending before the Cabinet Sub-committee on Infrastructure for over two months.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who chairs the sub committee, had stated recently on NDTV 24×7’s Walk the Talk that the contract will be finalised in the next 10 days, but little has moved since then. In fact, the sub-committee has not met since. “We expect the meeting to be held by Monday or Tuesday,” Vimal Mundada, PWD (Public Undertakings) Minister told Newsline.

The 3.6-km link, a continuation from the Bandra-Worli Sea Link that was partially opened to traffic on July 1, will be built at an estimated cost between Rs 4,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore. A consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd is likely to bag the contract after having quoted almost Rs 1,000 crore less than the other consortium -Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) with John Laing and Korean giant Samsung.

Once the nod from the Cabinet is obtained, work could start by the year-end and completed in three years. The consortium that bags the contract would first have to build a cloverleaf interchange from the second carriageway of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link to the Worli end. The 1.5-km cloverleaf interchange would loop over the southbound carriageway and connect at the Worli end, near Thadani Junction.

The state government is also evaluating a combination of a sea bridge, a tunnel and a shallow tunnel under Marine Drive for the Haji Ali-Nariman Point link. Consultants have recommended a sea bridge from Haji Ali to Priyadarshini Park, followed by a deep (drill and blast) tunnel via Malabar Hill to Tambe Chowk and then a cut-and-cover tunnel from Tambe Chowk to Nariman Point.

Couple of articles in the Indian express on Mumbai infrastructure in general and the Worli-Haji Ali sea link in particular. Sad, looks like it may not be awarded before the model code comes into effect after all.


Get them built
The Indian Express Posted online: Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 at 0141 hrs

The Maharashtra government has repeatedly said that the imminent coming-into-force of the Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct will not be allowed to delay the commissioning of the first extension of Mumbai’s Worli-Bandra Sealink: the stretch between Worli and Haji Ali. Time is running out; this week the government’s power to take decisions ends. Chief Minister Ashok Chavan must sign off on the project — which is waiting basically just for his approval — immediately.
The hoopla surrounding the inauguration of the Sealink was incongruous, as these columns pointed out at the time: the project was massively delayed. No mention was made, in that celebratory period, of the man-hours that Mumbai wasted in traffic while clearances were ploddingly procured, local residents brought on board, and do-gooders placated. But the state needs to show that it has learnt from the experience. It needs to show, through effective support of the project and through political neutralisation of objections, that the mistakes that caused the Worli-Bandra delays will not be allowed to happen again. Chavan has said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi specifically asked for the process to be expedited; he should see this as a signal to expend political capital on getting it done. Signals that the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra is willing to cast off the laziness that has characterised much of its approach to its state’s fast-growing cities might well be essential if it is to mount a successful defence during the assembly campaign of its lacklustre performance in office.

The government further believes that work can be “completed in two and half to three years’ time”. True, it can. But will it? More, does the government have what it takes to view that as a hard-and-fast deadline rather than as some sort of optimistic, rosy vision of the future? Maharashtra’s political class can’t afford to sit back on these giant, transformative projects. There is little doubt that Mumbai’s very future as a global city depends on three things: the timely completion of the Sealink, and its extension to Versova and Nariman point within half-a-dozen years; the clearing and construction, in a similar timeframe, of the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, the 23-km sealink connecting Sewri in peninsular Mumbai with Nhava in Raigad, on the mainland; and the Navi Mumbai international airport project, due to come up in the Panvel-Kopra area. In each of these, Mumbai’s future has been held to ransom — sometimes by government sloth, sometimes by corporate egos, sometimes by last-man-standing environmentalists. None of these should be allowed to matter any more.








Panel keeps decision on Haji Ali link pending
Swapnil Rawal Posted: Aug 20, 2009 at 0128 hrs


Mumbai The cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure met on Tuesday but took no decision on awarding the contract for the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link, the first connecting arm of the Bandra Worli Sea Link.
The contract, expected to go to a consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, is awaiting the endorsement of Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who has promised that work on the sea link will commence soon. It is not clear if it will be awarded before the code of conduct is enforced for the Assembly elections.

The 3.6-km sea link will be built at an estimated cost between Rs 4,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore. Subject to Cabinet clearance, work could start by the year-end and completed in three years.

The project involves a 1.5-km cloverleaf interchange from the second carriageway of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link to the Worli end. The cloverleaf interchange would loop over the southbound carriageway and connect at the Worli end, near Thadani Junction.

The Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium has quoted nearly Rs 1,000 crore less than the other consortium that bid, Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) with John Laing and Korean giant Samsung.

Long live this ministry.

this GoM has been absolutely disastrous for the last 8 or so years. dragged their feet on so many projects is unbelievable. made a humongous amount of money by extorting builders and contractors though

I've always tried the 'hidden motive' angle to see if theres a potential reason for delaying a project ...Unfortunately in this case, short of non-payment of a kick-back/bribe there appears to be no potential motive: No pressure from a huge corporation (eg: Sewri-Nhava Sheva sea link), No special interest groups (eg: Peddar road flyover) and no perceived public outcry (eg: the Charkop-Bandra metro route). Unfortunately, a voting percentage of 41.24 % for a national election in a city, immediately after the most brazen terrorist attack in its history, means the problems of the city will never be taken seriously enough. Pity...a real pity.

And this ...proposal for a coastal route along the sea....they want to cut and cover a tunnel under Juhu beach.....with a glass cover so that people can see the vehicles under it .....it would be funny if it was'nt so so SAD ...what are these guys smoking ??...do they even look at the map ? ....where the hell are they going to build an 8-lane road along the sea ..over carter road ?? ...Are they still using maps from the 1700s ?...just build a freaking sea-bridge and stop wasting our time and money.....dimwits



Printed from
The Times of India
Coastal route for 'burbs'
Chittaranjan Tembhekar, TNN 20 August 2009, 02:18am IST

The Bandra-Worli sea link has reduced some chaos on city roads. It's successor, now on the drawing board, may trim traffic in the suburbs. The state cabinet's sub-committee on infrastructure on Tuesday asked the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to go ahead with its plan to design and build a 10.3-km long coastal link from Bandra to Versova.

MSRDC sources said following the state's green signal, the agency will appoint a consultant to study the technical and economic feasibility of the project's three options. The eight-lane project will cost Rs 2,300 crore if the cheapest option is implemented. The state has already approved Rs 10 crore for the feasibility study, bid documents and engineering designs. The study will take nine months while the project itself will take another four years.

Engineers involved in the project told TOI that the primary option being considered was creating a coastal road right from the Bandra end of the existing sea link up to Juhu beach and then a cut-and-cover tunnel from under the beach up to Versova, as it is the cheapest option. It is likely to be built with private participation on a build-own-transfer basis.

A cut-and-cover tunnel is an underground road from under the beach. This one will have a glass cover so people walking across the beach would be able to see vehicles passing below. At the Bandra end, as per the preliminary report of the project, the new bridge will land in front of Taj Lands End and from there a new coastal road will be built on the lines of Marine Drive.

Under the second option, a sea bridge will replace the cut-and-cover tunnel and some portion of the coastal road. It is estimated to cost around Rs 2,500 crore. The third option is to construct a sea link all the way from Bandra to Versova like the existing one between Bandra and Worli. But the third option is estimated to cost at least Rs 3,000 crore. MSRDC has also ruled out a complete tunnel option under the sea due to its huge capital requirement.

"We will seek clearance from the coastal authorities for the road and we will have to acquire some land as well. If we do not get environmental clearances then we may have to go for a total sea link, like the existing one," said an official on condition of anonymity.

This one will have a glass cover so people walking across the beach would be able to see vehicles passing below.

WTF

lol!

though a glass covered human subway would be cool. probably open to misuse by perverts as well though

What have these guys been smoking? How can they even imagine constructing a glass covered tunnel under the beach so that the people walking on the beach can see the vehicles in the tunnel. In no time, the glass will be covered with sand.

Printed from TIMES OF INDIA

Infra projects' meet on hold:bash:

Yogesh Naik, TNN 27 August 2009, 01:25am IST

MUMBAI: The Congress has suddenly applied the brakes when it comes to clearing major infrastructure projects. The meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure, which was pushed back several times, has now been postponed indefinitely.

Most of the infra-projects, which cost hundreds of crores, belong to the PWD and MSRDC controlled by NCP ministers, Chhagan Bhujbal and Vimal Mundada respectively. A key Congress minister said there was no point in taking decisions in haste. But NCP ministers said that the Congress was playing spoilsport.

The meeting of the cabinet sub-committee was to take place on Tuesday night and was rescheduled to Wednesday morning. It was again postponed to evening and finally the bureaucrats were informed that it would not take place as the CM had to go to Delhi.

Some of the key projects slated for approval are Bandra government residential colony redevelopment, funding of sealink extension from Worli to Haji Ali, Kalina library and some other key infra-projects. The extension of Mumbai-Pune expressway from Panvel to Sion is also pending clearance.

Deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal refused to comment.

Okay, the glass idea is pretty stupid, but if the coastal road is like some scenic expressway which then goes underground, I don't see whats wrong with it, although it might be a good idea to not have a continuous road for 10 kms and maybe have an exit or 2 along the way. This would be access controlled, right?

Okay, the glass idea is pretty stupid, but if the coastal road is like some scenic expressway which then goes underground, I don't see whats wrong with it, although it might be a good idea to not have a continuous road for 10 kms and maybe have an exit or 2 along the way. This would be access controlled, right?

Yeah, the coastal expressway idea is good ONLY if it is feasible. However one can envision so many issues for an 8-lane coastal expressway that it would never get constructed. Just take the Bandra stretch for instance. Carter road, a 4-lane road at the moment, runs right off the sea face upto Khar Danda. The road has a pedestrian walk path and mangroves on the sea facing side and bungalows of several Bollywood celebrities on the eastern side. Expansion of this road, would entail either destroying the mangroves (try and get that past the CRZ guidelines) or bringing down the bungalows of the rich and the famous (not happening). Similar issues are going to occur at various other stretches. Sh-sh-shahrukh has a bungalow near Bandstand. You think he'll allow an expressway outside his front door ? :)

Then there is the other issue of making it access controlled. I cannot see a practical way to achieve this in a manner that would still leave the common man a way to get to the sea face for a quiet relaxing evening, something very essential for our city (given our lack of open spaces to begin with). Plus this road has to be an expressway to achieve the ends that it is designed for: meaning clear entry ramps and exits. I can't even begin to imagine how these can be worked into the design.

A sea bridge would instead have several advantages including that of speed of dispersal, the most important need of the hour. It would also obviate all issues of land clearance, mangrove destruction, cutting and covering under a beach (for Gods sake!...they're not allowing the Peddar road flyover construction because of two pillars on Girgaum chowpatty).

I'm all for a coastal road along the lines of Marine drive, it just can't be an expressway along the lines we need IMHO. It will just be delayed year after year after year for one issue or the other. On the other hand once you have environmental clearance for the sea bridge, there should'nt be as much scope for delay and we can have a western freeway that could finally do what the planners had set put to achieve all those years ago.

I would totally oppose a sea bridge. Juhu beach is the only real clean beach in Mumbai and we will be spoiling the view with this construction. I would suggest an underground road, at least for that section. Further, when it is a coastal route, i doubt it would be as majestic as the BWSL, which at least prevents it from looking like a monster.

screw this whole sea link business. it will end up spoiling the entire view from bombay's western coast

build metro lines instead

^True. It's gonna ruin the view of Haji Ali and the view from all the beaches on the western coast.

I would totally oppose a sea bridge. Juhu beach is the only real clean beach in Mumbai and we will be spoiling the view with this construction. I would suggest an underground road, at least for that section. Further, when it is a coastal route, i doubt it would be as majestic as the BWSL, which at least prevents it from looking like a monster.

Qwerty, I think Girgaum is much cleaner than Juhu.

But anyways, Nothing of this sort is happening.

Don't expect anything miracle from our bureaucrats. It's out of their reach. I would be happy if they can first talk about completing the Haji Ali part of the bridge and then talk about something cool and complete the former asap because that's the need of this hour.

In an ideal world, we would have metro lines crisscrossing the length and breadth of Mumbai. Seeing as it is a distant dream and that we are adding to the tune of about 300 cars a day to the streets of Mumbai, we could do with whatever additional road space we can get in the city. Going over the sea is the quickest way to achieve this. Will it ruin 'the view' for some people ? Sure. But if constructed well, it promises to be the quickest and most efficient way for quick traffic dispersal towards the suburbs.

No one will make the argument that this is the most important road project the city needs. The Worli-Haji Ali sea link and the further connection to Nariman point are definitely far more important. But what pisses me off most about the Bandra-Versoval proposal is the reluctance to learn from previous mistakes. The coastal route idea is rife with possibilities for litigation, and rightful environmental concerns that have delayed several projects in the country for years/decades (see: Navi Mumbai airport, Santacruz-Chembur link road for perfect examples). Yet you will conduct feasibility studies that will extend for years, keep fighting matters in court for years, make hundreds of changes to the original plan and finally end with infrastructure that is 20 years too late.

Or just spend the extra money and put a tunnel underneath Carter Rd (using cut and cover I guess), come up at Chuim Village and along the coast in that slum area (while moving the inhabitants into some new government housing scheme. And at Juhu, you can cut and cover again till Versova, the only extra cost is at Carter Rd.

there are 300 extra cars on the road because there is no clean, safe and easily accessible public transport alternative. you wont reduce cars on the road by adding new roads, it will only encourage more cars and then you will finally need more new roads

the only real solution is a metro system

there are 300 extra cars on the road because there is no clean, safe and easily accessible public transport alternative. you wont reduce cars on the road by adding new roads, it will only encourage more cars and then you will finally need more new roads

the only real solution is a metro system

As I said, I'm not debating that for a moment. A mass transport system is the only long term solution for Mumbai. But in the next decade if we want to reduce the time that people spend commuting in Mumbai, the roads are going to have to be fixed/constructed. We better do it quickly and we better do it right.

I believe that in Singapore they have tolls to enter the downtown area as well as some sort of system limiting cars on certain days based on license plates. But they also have a good public transportation system. What we need is to not only limit the amount of new cars that come on to the road every day, but phase out old cars at around the same rate. Most important, of course, is to make public transport accessible to everybody. People who take local trains only do it because they have to. We need fully AC trains and maybe less first class compartments but at a higher rate, to avoid overcrowding.

Also, how many more people can come into the city?

WHSL has already been awarded to Reliance Infrastructure.

Yeah, but the construction hasn't started. Pisses me off a lot.

WHSL has already been awarded to Reliance Infrastructure.

nope. they won the bid, but the GoM has not yet awarded the contract to them. they have been sitting on it for a few months now

oh ok.It had come in TOI(mumbai).

It's been a while that anyone posted here ... so herez an article from DNAINDIA ... R-Infra Hyndai is the preferred group but they are not awarded the project ... why?:bash:

Source: DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_extension-of-sea-link-to-haji-ali-hit-by-delay-of-a-year_1343927)

Extension of sea link to Haji Ali hit by delay of a year


Mumbai: More than six months after the Bandra-Worli Sea Link was opened for traffic, everyone is now expecting the government to plan the next phase of the link — Worli to Haji Ali. However, the extension may not be on the cards any time soon. It has almost been a year since the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) opened tenders for the construction of the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link (WHASL). But the state cabinet has not bothered to award the tenders.

Two consortiums — one comprising Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) and Hyundai and the other of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) with HCC-John Laing and Samsung — were in the race to construct the second phase of the sea link. The extension between Worli and Haji Ali is expected to be a 4.7km regular sea link without any cable-stayed bridge.

On February 4, 2009, when the tenders for WHASL were opened, R-Infra and Hyundai were declared as the preferred bidder.

However, in spite of several meetings, the state cabinet committee on infrastructure has not taken the final decision to award the tender to the consortium.

According to MSRDC sources, there are chances of the project being re-tendered. “Reliance Infrastructure and Hyundai were preferred bidders since they had quoted a lower viability gap figure of Rs1,392 crore. However, there are chances that the state government may re-think awarding the contract to them,” a senior MSRDC official said.

The official added that engineers of MSRDC were frustrated with the delay as the decision was taking way too long. Joint managing director Sonia Sethi, who is also holding the additional charge for the post of vice chairman and managing director, and MSRDC chairman Jaydatt Kshirsagar were unavailable for comment.

Clearly theres some shifty deals going on that they dont wanna tell us about.

Can an RTI be filed demanding to know why the contract was not awarded when Reliance was the clear winner

yup. you can file a rti asking inspection of files related to the bids including all notings, correspondence, etc. then you can take photocopies of all papers you want

Ambani brothers thwart mumbai AGAIN

^^Its more to do with the infighting in the govt and between the various agencies(mmrda,msrdc,pwd) than the ambani brothers fighting each other.

delete

Stalled work: Senior MSRDC men will meet CM on Monday

Chittaranjan Tembhekar I TNN

Mumbai: The cash-strapped Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will appeal to both ruling partners, Congress and NCP, to bury their differences over awarding project contracts to its shortlisted bidders. Alternatively it wants the government to allow it to get into joint ventures with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and MMRDA for their projects.
MSRDC has been unable to recover over Rs 2,500 crore from the state and civic agencies against road and flyover work done across the state. There have been differences between Congress and NCP leaders over awarding of contracts to Reliance Infrastructure for Worli-Haji Ali sea link construction and to the Mumbai Entry Point Toll Ltd for maintenance of Mumbai toll booths and flyovers . MSRDC also urged the government to clear its own water transport project on the east coast. The MMRDA is controlled by the Congress and MSRDC by the NCP.
On Monday, MSRDC officials will make a presentation before CM Ashok Chavan and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar that their Worli-Haji Ali project and leasing of toll posts and 27 flyovers for maintenance be cleared at the earliest.

REPOST

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2104/68718694.jpg

Indian Express

yup. you can file a rti asking inspection of files related to the bids including all notings, correspondence, etc. then you can take photocopies of all papers you want

RTI against Ambani, might not be such a great idea for your health....just sayin :bash:

when investigating shady government deals i think mr. ambani would be the least of your worries

in this case he wants it to be awarded asap anyways

Why does the Cabinet have to approve the bridge? They should leave such things to regional authorities. If everytime they need to go to cabinet to approve such things it will take ages to get anything done.

Maybe because it has some funds coming from central govt.

its the maharashtra cabinet

evidently someone's palm has not been greased enough

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/1497/13340273.jpg

Indian Express

I hate our fucking government, our politicians, our bureaucracy, this bullshit. :ohno:

The file is stuck at Chavan's office. WHY ??? How come these dozens of articles that say this, make absolutely no attempt to address that question. Why the hell is the file stuck ? Does the man have any concerns, does he not have the time ? WHY ??...Is'nt that part of the job description of our intrepid reporters. Just ask the %#$%#$ question and get an answer.:bash:

^^ nono!! their job is to make sensational headlines and then move on and find another sensational headline for tomm! they dun care about what happens afterwards!!

MSRDC IS RETARDED!!

Just hope the project gets cleared next week at the meeting as the article suggests.

The delays are retarded and the actual reasons are not been given.

The MSRDC dont have the funds and is bankrupt in my opinion.

Just hope the project gets cleared next week at the meeting as the article suggests.

The delays are retarded and the actual reasons are not been given.

The MSRDC dont have the funds and is bankrupt in my opinion.

That cant be the cause, because would'nt going ahead with WHSL help the MSRDC ? Remember, the company constructing the WHSL has to 'buy' the BWSL from the MSRDC for some x000 crores.

This is a petty fight between Bhujbal (MSRDC) and Chavan (MMRDA). If the MSRDC does'nt get the money, that would leave the MMRDA as the sole agency capable of taking on some plum projects such as Mantralaya redev and MTHL. Pisses me off no end. And the media is clearly not doing its job. We need infrastructure advocacy in this country :(

MMRDA SHOULD be the only agency overseeing all this. We don't need two different agencies fighting with each other!!

Very true!

Merge them....since they both are developing the city or at least trying too hehe.

Very true!

Merge them....since they both are developing the city or at least trying too hehe.



No please do not merge them...just exterminate MSRDC.

HAJI ALI SEALINK GOT CLEARED & DECIDED ON THE LAST SECTION OF THE LINK!!!!!

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/3239/12659977.jpg

why do you also need the sea link from haji ali to nariman point when you have the pedder road flyover?

is it because of the slower speed limit on that flyover?

why do you also need the sea link from haji ali to nariman point when you have the pedder road flyover?

is it because of the slower speed limit on that flyover?


The Pedder Road flyover probably wouldn't be able to handle the large capacity coming from Bandra.

The Pedder Road flyover was in the making wayy before BWSL was planned.

WESTERN FREEWAY PROJECT
Green- Bandra-Worli Sealink- Under Construction
Red- Worli-Haji Ali Sealink- Approved for construction today
Orange- Haji Ali to Priyadarshani Park Sealink- Route Approved today
Pink- Priyadarshani Park to Marine Drive Tunnel- Route Approved today
Yellow- Marine Drive-Nariman Point- Complete

MUMBAI TRANS-HARBOR LINK
Black- Nahva-Sewri Bridge- Planned- MMRDA fighting with MSRDC. Exact route undecided

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7822/14241564.png



Doesn't this look amazing?

Balle balle, today is a good day!

HAJI ALI SEALINK GOT CLEARED & DECIDED ON THE LAST SECTION OF THE LINK!!!!!

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7955/78954297.png

Niknak, please update the article image with the link below. You uploaded this in wrong size. Just replace your link with this link.

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/3239/12659977.jpg

HAJI ALI SEALINK GOT CLEARED & DECIDED ON THE LAST SECTION OF THE LINK!!!!!

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7955/78954297.png

:banana:

Now that this section of the bridge is cleared when will work start?

Now that this section of the bridge is cleared when will work start?

They are expected to get environmental clearance soon. After that hopefully. My guess is end of the year.

saw it on the news yesterday they said the clearance for most of the mega projects by march 25 and navi mumbai airport project with changes by september

saw it on the news yesterday they said the clearance for most of the mega projects by march 25 and navi mumbai airport project with changes by september

September ? When will they complete it then ? Mumbai airport will soon reach its capacity of 40 million and after that ?

State seeks Haji Ali green signal
Worli-Haji Ali Section Of Sea Link Awaiting Clearance From Union Environment Ministry

Chittaranjan Tembhekar | TNN
The Maharashtra government on Friday approached the Union environment ministry for clearances to the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link (WHSL), which is a southward extension of the existing Bandra-Worli Sea Link, and the Pedder road flyover at the earliest.
Environmental clearance for the WHSL will mean work can start immediately after financial closure scheduled in October this year. Once the link is complete in 2014, Mumbaikars can expect a saving of around 40 to 50 minutes and a couple of litres fuel. The BWSL took nine years in the making and was inaugurated in June 2009, delayed by more than four years mostly due to environmental objections and public litigations.
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) sources said the Pedder road flyover will help accomodate traffic that will travel to Haji Ali from Bandra and Worli once the second link is inaugurated and hence simultaneous clearances for and construction of both the WHSL and the Pedder road flyover were necessary. The state has already given its environmental nod for the flyover.
“We have already satisfied queries raised by the Union ministry of environment and forests over WHSL. We expect to get clearance by the time agreements and financial closures are achieved by April and October 2010 respectively,” said MSRDC’s acting managing director Sonia
Sethi. A team of MSRDC officials led by public works minister (MSRDC) Jaidutta Kshirsagar, Sethi, chief engineers Sharad Sabnis and Subhash Nage is camping in Delhi to ensure follow-up of all clearances for the sea link and flyover.
Meanwhile, the Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra)-Hyundai consortium has to respond to the letter of acceptance issued by the MSRDC for construction of the WHSL by March 17 otherwise the deal will be cancelled, the consortium will be blacklisted and its bid security deposit of Rs 30 crore will be seized.
During financial closure the R-Infra-led consortium will also have to make an upfront payment. “Unless the R-Infra-led
consortium makes an upfront payment of Rs 1,640 crore by October we cannot allow it to take possession of the existing sea link and start toll collection as well as construction work for WHSL,” stated a senior MSRDC official. Later, MSRDC and state government will together pay Rs 1,392 crore to R-Infra as to enable it build the sea link in a public-private partnership.
R-Infra will pump in the remaining money of over Rs 2,500 crore to build the link, the total cost of which comes to over Rs 4,500 crore.

Source: DNAINDIA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_second-sea-link-will-be-longer-and-costlier_1371935)

Second sea link will be longer & costlier


Mumbai: Although the length of the Worli-Haji Ali stretch of the sea link is said to be approximately 4 km on paper, if the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) officials are to be believed, the total length of this second phase is going to be more than the first link. Also, the cost of this stretch will go up by leaps and bound.

The cost of the Bandra-Worli stretch increased from Rs400 crore to a whopping Rs1,634 crore. However, the contractor and MSRDC have been defending their case by saying that the escalation was because of the change in alignment and an additional cable stayed bridge. Now, the second stretch will also see a higher cost, even though there are no complicated engineering works such as the cable stayed bridge — an extremely complicated engineering job.

According to senior MSRDC officials, though the actual sea link is 3.6 km into the sea, there are several other aspects which will be responsible for the increased cost. “The connector towards Haji Ali connecting the link with the main road will be of 1.25 km. Besides this, the most complicated part will be the clover leaf flyover at Worli. This will be a similar structure like the one opposite the Bandra fire brigade office. This will ensure smooth traffic flow at Worli junction. Together, this takes the total length to 7 km,” said an MSRDC official.

In spite of the increased distance of the sea link, there will be a variation between the costs quoted by MSRDC as well as the winner consortium — Reliance Infrastructure and Hyundai. The cost as per MSRDC is Rs4,300 crore (including the viability gap of Rs1,392 crore and the buying back of Bandra-Worli Sea Link for Rs1,634 crore), but the bidder has estimated the cost at Rs5,000 crore. Defending this variation, the official added that the cost quoted by the bid winner includes interest figures as well.

Just bring it on. 1600 crore sounds like a good amount for the politicians to keep taxpayers' money in their pockets.

chor saalee!

wait wait

is this party due to increased inflation? Which to be fair it nearly in double digits currently.

more likely to be due to increased palm greasing

Standard Palm Greasing (SPG) is around 10% of project cost, so Rs 160 crores in the pockets of the ruling party. When projects get cleared, it means that the agreed rates are settled, all green signal. Nowadays, the bigger chors are construction companies. They hide behind statements, like "Engineering Change Orders like route change, extra culvert, bridge what not", "Extremely complicated - (which projects aren't complicated)", "Inflation and Price Hike", etc. All trendy catchy phrases. In some part they have to cover SPG for the politicos and babus. Large projects, ergo large scale corruption. The only solace for Tax Payers is that they get work done instead of dithering and delays. With RTI, the tax payers can haul up these crooks once the project is complete.

any updates on this?

any updates on this?

here is a piece of news from yesterdays times of India.

Waterway talk on since my college days

Mumbai: Chief minister Ashok Chavan,angry over the delay in several infrastructure projects in the city,on Monday remarked at a review meeting that he had been hearing of the citys water transport projects right since his college days.
The chief minister,who was reviewing several important infrastructure projects of Mumbai,asked the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to speed up work on the water transport projects.
The CM also took a review of other key projects and asked the officials to set deadlines.Officials told him about the progress on the water transport project and explained that the last date for bidding had been extended,when he reportedly made his college days remark.
The western coast water transport project is being executed by the MSRDC and officials told the CM that the earlier tender had to be scrapped.The fresh bid,which was floated some weeks ago,had been modified.Officials told him that the last day for submission is May 30.The MSRDC officials also promised to implement the project work in eight months,though the project had faced a delay of eight years.The fate of the eastern coast water transport is still in limbo as the Mumbai Port Trust is yet to allot a jetty for it.
The CM also asked officials to set deadlines for the Versova-Bandra Sea Link,Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link and Haji Ali-Nariman Point Sea Link.
A senior MSRDC official said a letter to start the work on Worli-Haji Ali had been issued to the Reliance-Hyundai consortium.The MSRDC officials said the Haji Ali-Nariman Point work will be started after April 2011,but Chavan said the work should begin before a years time.
The MSRDC officials said they will appoint a consultant for the Bandra-Versova Sea Link by next year.
The Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link,which has been mired in controversies,was also discussed.The chief minister has asked the urban development department to submit a report in four days as to why the MTHL should be given to the MMRDA.
The CM also discussed about the Bus Rapid Transport System,which has dedicated lanes for public transport.The system was introduced in Pune and has flopped.Some officials expressed reservations about the BRTS,saying that the dedicated lane system was not feasible as taxis often intruded on the space for buses.

Yeah and what if these projects don't start within a years time? Time is running out.

Standard Palm Greasing (SPG) is around 10% of project cost, so Rs 160 crores in the pockets of the ruling party. When projects get cleared, it means that the agreed rates are settled, all green signal. Nowadays, the bigger chors are construction companies. They hide behind statements, like "Engineering Change Orders like route change, extra culvert, bridge what not", "Extremely complicated - (which projects aren't complicated)", "Inflation and Price Hike", etc. All trendy catchy phrases. In some part they have to cover SPG for the politicos and babus. Large projects, ergo large scale corruption. The only solace for Tax Payers is that they get work done instead of dithering and delays. With RTI, the tax payers can haul up these crooks once the project is complete.

=========================================================

I am not sure how?? Monies paid by the govt. to private cos for work done/services rendered may be public info., but the actual money that lands in the hands of pvt cos. (and hence shows up in the books of the pvt co. - black or otherwise) is outside the purview of the RTI, precisely because it is pvt money, and hence outside the public domain.

Looks like RInfra is trying to boot out Hyundai!!! Either ways, something fishy is up, and this is sure to delay a lot of things!!! And who the bloody hell works on "verbal" requests in such important and expensive projects?? I am sure the delaying tactic is typical of MSRDC to extract the last bit of moolah from RInfra before the project is turned over to them!!!:bash::bash::ohno:

Haji Ali link: Reliance wants ‘tech partner’ Hyundai redefined (http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/haji-ali-link-reliance-wants-tech-partner-hyundai-redefined/617214/)

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd wants to know if it can change the expression “technical partner” in the contract for the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link. Hyundai Engineering is RInfra’s technical partner in the consortium that got the contract two months ago.
RInfra has requested the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) if it can change the expression as mentioned in the contract, apparently so that another partner can be included if needed.

RInfra, the lead member, has a 26 per cent share while Hyundai, the technical partner, has 10 per cent. RInfra is responsible for financial aspects and Hyundai for design and construction.

MSRDC sources said RInfra has requested the change as it feels the civil construction can be done at a lower rate. “They have requested a change in the expression and asked us to define it in the concession agreement, thus facilitating inclusion of possibly another partner in the consortium,” a senior MSRDC official said.

Jaidutt Kshirsagar, PWD (Public Undertaking) Minister, said, “The MSRDC is studying the request. There are a number of issues involved, but we will go according to the framework of the tender documents.” He declined to specify the nature of the request, but an MSRDC source said it was “verbal”.

The signing of the concession agreement between the consortium and the government, which was likely by May 17, is expected to be pushed back due to the ongoing discussions. “The process of negotiations is still on and the concessionaire is well within its right to request certain things. There are no formal letters going back and forth on this. We are having discussions and we’re confident of reaching a common ground and signing the concession agreement soon,” said Sonia Sethi, vice chairman and managing director, MSRDC. Asked about the nature of the request, Sethi declined to get into details. “All I can say is that everything will be done in the legal framework.”

The RInfra spokesperson denied that any such request has been made. “There is no such request made. We were with Hyundai and will remain with them as consortium partners for the project.”

Following the signing of the agreement and achieving the financial closure, the concessionaire would make an upfront payment of Rs 1,634 crore to buy out the Bandra Worli Sea Link and can start collecting toll on it.

I hope this dont turn into a scandal & unecessary delay the project.

This is abt the 3rd leg of the West Island Freeway (Haji Ali-Priyadarshini Pk-Malabar Hill-NPt.)

One thing is for sure: Someone had a nice little foreign junket at taxpayer's expense!!!:cheers::cheers: Ofcourse, all this is necessary for the idiocracy at MSRDC to learn and understand the obvious, aint it?!:bash::bash::bash::bash:

Next sea link may be Hong Kong style (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_next-sea-link-may-be-hong-kong-style_1388711)

Mumbai: Top officials of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), who recently returned from a study tour of Hong Kong and Shanghai, have said they are confident of implementing, back home, the bridge technology used in the two world-class cities.


MSRDC chairman and minister for public works (public undertakings) Jaydatt Kshirsagar led the delegation of MSRDC top officials which also included vice-chairman and managing director Sonia Sethi, joint managing director Shyamal Kumar Mukherjee and chief engineer Sharad Sabnis.

Sabnis said the delegation has learnt a lot — especially about the “cut and curve tunnels” which are part of many bridges connecting Kowloon and Hong Kong.

“This type of tunnel will be a part of the third phase of the sea link between Haji Ali and Nariman Point. However, since India has never seen a similar link bridge before, we got some vital details from the officials of Hong Kong. There are many underground bridges connecting the two cities as well,” Sabnis told DNA.

The idea behind the five-day tour was to understand the advanced technology used in the urban infrastructure like bridges, roads, tunnels, waterways and the high-speed trains in both the countries.

In Hong Kong, the team visited the Stonecutters Bridge, the world’s second largest cable-stayed bridge, which was opened to traffic in December last year. This high-level bridge spans the Rambler channel in Hong Kong, connecting Nam Wan Kok, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters Island. The bridge spans 1.6 km, with 3 lanes in each direction.

The MSRDC team also visited the state-of-the-art surveillance and control room of this tunnel.

The tunnel is built by implementing the ‘cut-and-cover’ methodology, which the state corporation is planning to implement in the proposed Worli-Nariman Point and Sewri-Nhava Sheva sea link.

Sabnis said the delegation has learnt a lot — especially about the “cut and curve tunnels” which are part of many bridges connecting Kowloon and Hong Kong.


Is it just me who does'nt get this ?

how does one propose a cut and cover under the ocean bed?

.............. officials of Hong Kong. There are many underground bridges connecting the two cities as well,” Sabnis told DNA.

:lol::lol::lol:

good catch

i wouldnt put it past them to proudly put that on a plaque as well

[QUOTE=parthochoudhury;57642595]This is abt the 3rd leg of the West Island Freeway (Haji Ali-Priyadarshini Pk-Malabar Hill-NPt.)

Quote from DNA?:lol::lol::lol:

LOL the visit to Hong Kong & Shanghai is nothing but a jolly.

More bad news:bash::bash::bash::bash:

Second sea link in Mumbai may also run in slow lane (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_second-sea-link-in-mumbai-may-also-run-in-slow-lane_1390350)

Mumbai: It took the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) almost 10 years to complete the 4.7-km long Bandra-Worli sea link. Though the corporation has been claiming that the next phase (the Worli-Haji Ali sea link) will not take as much time, it is likely that even the second phase might be delayed.

Also, the consortium was to sign the agreement before May 17, but the deadline has been extended till June end.
Since the second sea link is based on a public-private partnership model, the consortium has to shell out a few thousand crores before they can begin construction. This process, according to officials, is likely to take a long time.(What is a few thousand crores for Ambani Jr.????)

According to a senior official, even after the second phase starts functioning fully, the total annual toll revenue will not exceed Rs120 to 130 crore. “This may result in losses for the contractor and officials of the consortium are concerned about it,” the official said, requesting anonymity. But R-Infra spokesperson has maintained that the consortium is looking at much more annual toll revenue.

“By 2014, once the sea link is operational up to Haji Ali, we are confident of getting Rs280 crore annually in the first year of operation,” said the spokesperson in a written reply to DNA.
Besides the toll, there are issues between the consortium partners as well. A top MSRDC official has confirmed that R-Infra has demanded to keep a clause which gives it permission to change the consortium partner midway if it backs out.

“We did get a demand from R-Infra asking to make certain changes in the contract. We are yet to take a final decision on the same,” said the official. However, R-Infra has denied the development. “Our partnership with Hyundai is in place and we have never asked MSRDC for any change of consortium,” said the spokesperson.

Another issue was of the cost estimates. According to MSRDC estimates, the cost of construction of Worli-Haji Ali section is Rs1,900 crore, whereas R-Infra claims it to be around Rs2500 crore. On the other hand, as per the Hyundai estimates, the cost is close to Rs2,700 crore.

Confirming that there are variations in the cost, officials have said the issues would be resolved before the construction begins.

My take: Another scandal in the works!!!

lol! i know the details of this delay. not pretty at all for msrdc, who have screwed up big time with the sea link (both bandra-worli and now this). reliance is absolutely right in asking for the changes in the contract

lol! i know the details of this delay. not pretty at all for msrdc, who have screwed up big time with the sea link (both bandra-worli and now this). reliance is absolutely right in asking for the changes in the contract

So it is indeed true that Reliance Infra wants to keep the "change partner" clause in the final version of the contract, is it??? I am not sure I want to believe anything MSRDC/MMRDA has to say on this.

nope. nothing to do with that at all. something to do with msrdc and the GoM's commitments before handing over the project to reliance

Can't believe a mere 2 km bridge still needs so much attention.

to be honest all this tells me is that the construction of the bridge is just not financially viable.

maybe not right now but the bridge will be there forever and traffic and toll will only increase in the future.

IMO building these bridges and basically further extending our roads into the water is a waste of time. We're basically encouraging more private cars (especially those who can afford the toll and wouldn't give up their car for public transport) which makes NO sense. Okay, maybe it seems fair to have this periphery road around the city, which if connected with the Eastern Freeway at Nariman Point would create huge opportunity. But we should be going the extra mile and dedicating space here for public transport, like a special BRTS/bus only lane. 6 lanes on the BWSL is plenty, barely anyone uses it and barely anyones gonna use the next link because no one wants to pay the toll.

Also why did no one ever think of a Pedder Road tunnel?

my 2 cents

Waiting to see the first pics or read the first report of construction activity here. If only all the agencies involved would resolve the issues they have fast. :bash: One would assume that since this has already been in the design and assesment phase for years they would have sorted things out by now, instead of just making crazy statements in the press.

IMO building these bridges and basically further extending our roads into the water is a waste of time. We're basically encouraging more private cars (especially those who can afford the toll and wouldn't give up their car for public transport) which makes NO sense. Okay, maybe it seems fair to have this periphery road around the city, which if connected with the Eastern Freeway at Nariman Point would create huge opportunity. But we should be going the extra mile and dedicating space here for public transport, like a special BRTS/bus only lane. 6 lanes on the BWSL is plenty, barely anyone uses it and barely anyones gonna use the next link because no one wants to pay the toll.

Also why did no one ever think of a Pedder Road tunnel?

my 2 cents


hmm problem is our public transport services are woeful. Many people ate forced to take a car as well considering public transport is not near their homes.

More than the roads in the sea

Its parking which will be the eventual bottleneck.

Saw this video of some1 driving down BWSL when the first showers hit Mumbai this season.....it shows 2 rigs still up on the Worli end before the lanes turn landside. Moreover, the 4+4 lanes merge into 2+2 on the soutbound carriageway somewhere near where the rigs are placed.

Does this mean that the WHASL construction has already begun??? There is no reason why the rigs should be up even now, if not for construction of Phase II!!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=398704896269&ref=mf (http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=398704896269&ref=mf)

nope. they are there from the bwsl construction. they were never taken away. they will probably be used for the whsl, but the agreement has not yet been signed

IMO building these bridges and basically further extending our roads into the water is a waste of time. We're basically encouraging more private cars (especially those who can afford the toll and wouldn't give up their car for public transport) which makes NO sense. Okay, maybe it seems fair to have this periphery road around the city, which if connected with the Eastern Freeway at Nariman Point would create huge opportunity. But we should be going the extra mile and dedicating space here for public transport, like a special BRTS/bus only lane. 6 lanes on the BWSL is plenty, barely anyone uses it and barely anyones gonna use the next link because no one wants to pay the toll.

Also why did no one ever think of a Pedder Road tunnel?

my 2 cents

If everything goes well, BRTS can be implemented on the sea link in the future.

but the agreement has not yet been signed

All that is expected to change by month-end (hopefully!!)

The gantry rigs are on the north-bound carriageway. From the article, it seems that they will be used for the clover-leaf junction.....if it really is what they claim it is, this one will perhaps be the first full clover-leaf interchange over open sea!!!

Worli-Haji Ali link to get another push forward (http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/worlihaji-ali-link-to-get-another-push-forward/636732/)

Mumbai Almost a year after the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) was inaugurated, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is set to sign the concession agreement for the Worli-Haji Ali arm of the Western Freeway Sea Link by month-end. The 4.7-km sea link would be constructed by a consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Hyundai Engineering.
“We will sign the concession agreement within a week with RInfra,” confirmed Jaydutt Kshirsagar, Minister, Public Works Department (Public Undertakings). He added that no dates have been finalised but the Corporation would ink the deal by month-end. According to sources in the MSRDC, the concession agreement was expected to be signed by May 17. A year after the bids for were opened, the MSRDC awarded the contract to RInfra in February, days before the bid validity was to expire.

According to MSRDC, the construction is expected to start post-Diwali. Apart from the sea link, the concessionaire also has to construct a cloverleaf interchange from the north-carriageway of the sea link to the Worli-side. MSRDC official added the interchange would be given priority by the concessionaire as it would be beneficial as the BWSL was now “fully operational”; the entry and exit from the Worli-end are common.

Following signing of the agreement and achieving the financial closure, the concessionaire would make an upfront payment of Rs 1,634 crore to “buy out” the Bandra Worli Sea Link to start collecting toll.

If everything goes well, BRTS can be implemented on the sea link in the future.

this will esp be helpful for Bandra-SoBo bus rides once phases II and III are ready.....

All that is expected to change by month-end (hopefully!!)

lol! trust me. reliance is not going to sign it. watch this space for some major news on the bwsl

lol! trust me. reliance is not going to sign it. watch this space for some major news on the bwsl

why wont they?

Maybe set bus fee at Rs500 per bus.

i cant reveal the info right now :)

hopefully later this month. all i can say is its something to do with the present bwsl

i cant reveal the info right now :)

hopefully later this month. all i can say is its something to do with the present bwsl

Let me guess. They want to reduce the cost of outright purchasing the BWSL, coupled with an increase in toll???? schysters!!!!:bash::bash::bash:

And how bad can it get??? Will they scrap WHASL altogether?????

nope, much more serious than that. and it is not reliance's fault in any way

Can you please PM us the reasons? I am curious to know.

Lets not speculate.....stay positive.

Now is this the secret issue BombayBoy was talking about...?


http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/road-corp-still-owes-contractor-rs-480-crore-for-yearold-sea-link/638146/


The Bandra Worli Sea Link turns one next week and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation still owes Rs 480 crore to the contractor, Hindustan Construction Company. The amount due is disputed over how much the cost has escalated due to the delay in payment.

The 5.6-km sea link was partially opened to traffic on June 30, 2009, nine years after construction began.

“The regular bills have been cleared. The reconciliation process is on and these things take time. We are committed to resolving the issue and paying the contractor,” assured Jaydutt Kshirsagar, PWD (Public Undertakings) Minister. A spokesperson for HCC declined to comment.

The MSRDC, under a serious funds crunch, will bank on the upfront payment of Rs 1,634 crore from Reliance Infrastructure Ltd to buy out the BWSL. Kshirsagar indicated the huge sum would help in paying up the pending dues to HCC. “The financial situation is not so weak. Hopefully, after Rinfra makes the payment
, we will pay the contractor provided the issue is resolved,” he said.

Sources said the cost escalations are for design and plan changes, higher cost of raw materials, and the extended project completion tenure. When the contract was signed, the cost of the bridge (package IV of the contract) was estimated at Rs 400 crore but, till the last estimates, delays had raised the cost to Rs 852 crore. The design changes, soon after the contract was signed on October 1, 2000, set the course for a series of disputes, unresolved till date.

Meanwhile, the concession agreement for the next arm of the sea link from Worli to Haji Ali is expected to be signed by the month-end, and the payment to buy out the BWSL within the next six months, MSRDC officials said.

Doesn't seem all that bad...Agreement could be signed anytime ? Or will it ?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Worli-Haji-Ali-link-in-green-limbo/articleshow/6088506.cms

MUMBAI: On Monday, June 28, 2010, two days before Mumbai’s first sea link between Bandra and Worli completes the first anniversary of its commissioning, its creators — the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) — will sign a contract to build its next part, a 3.4-kilometre Worli Haji Ali Sea Link (WHSL).

Shockingly, though, the MSRDC has not received environmental clearance from the ministry of environment and forests (MOEF), headed by minister Jairam Ramesh, for WHSL despite complying with its requirements.

MSRDC will sign a contract with Reliance Sea Link One (RSLOPL), a consortium of Reliance Infrastructure and Hyundai Engineering and Constructions, in the presence of MSRDC minister Jaidutta Kshirsagar, minister of state for PWD Abdul Sattar and MSRDC MD Sonia Sethi.

“We are upset with the fact that despite meeting all the requirements of the MOEF, the approval is still held up. We hope to get it cleared, for which we are meeting Mr Ramesh on July 11, 2010, along with other officials in Mantralaya,” said a senior MSRDC official, who fears the link may get delayed if the clearance doesn’t come in time.

On Monday, MSRDC will get Rs 100 crore as performance security from RSLOPL. According to the terms and conditions, RSLOPL will have to achieve financial closure for this Rs 5,000-crore project by December 28, 2010. “After signing the contract, RSLOPL can start work anytime,” a senior MSRDC official said.

The BWSL took nine years in the making and was inaugurated in June 2009, delayed by more than four years due to environmental objections and public litigations.
MSRDC sources said the Pedder Road flyover will help accomodate traffic that will travel to Haji Ali from Bandra and Worli once the second link is inaugurated, and hence simultaneous clearances and construction of both the WHSL and the Pedder Road flyover were necessary. The state has already given its environmental nod for the flyover, but it is still pending with the MOEF in Delhi.

Before December 28, 2010, the deadline for financial closure, the RSLOPL will also have to make an upfront payment of Rs 1,634 crore to MSRDC, following which it can take possession of the existing BWSL and start toll collection. Later, the state government on behalf of MSRDC will pay in installments Rs 1,392 crore to RSLOPL as equity towards public-private partnership.

Thus, the net gain for the government is around Rs 282 crore, besides around Rs 650 crore interest on Rs 1,634 crore, which will be retained by MSRDC. RSLOPL is expected to pump in the remaining Rs 2,500-crore expense. The central government has already refused its share for the project.

MSRDC, which is in financial doldrums, has incur a loss of around Rs 3 lakh a day due to free passes to around 6,000 vehicles.

If these are included, the total number of vehicles using the sea link stands at around 48,000 vehicles per day.

lol! you know whats the really funny bit. the present sea link has none of the statutory clearances itself! its as much an illegal structure as most of the slums in bombay

in my opinion you can kiss the whole sea link project goodbye (thank god). it would be quite something if the present one is allowed to stay

Why are you so against this project? just wondering...

it would be quite something if the present one is allowed to stay

Now you're just being silly. Is this one of the "dont block my beautiful view of the sea" trains of thought ?

the only link that has been recommended by experts is bandra-worli (i.e. across mahim bay only, not the present alignment). nowhere in the world do you have a bridge running 50-100 feet away from the entire coastal length of a city and for very many good reasons, major ones being

1. loss of sea view for the entire city (this should not be under-estimated by those not living in bombay)
2. environmental pollution and changing of tides that leads to degradation of beaches and finally non-usability of any beach (just look at what has happened to dadar chowpatty)
3. security threat due to restriction of movement of coast guard/navy in territorial waters
4. entails construction in CRZ-1 area, which is NOT allowed under any circumstances by the supreme court order of 1991

etc etc

all these points are well described in papers relating to the sea-link. i have seen almost all of them and you would be shocked to see the way this project has ignored almost all laws to date (or maybe not that shocked). the MOEF is not sitting over the extension for some flippant reasons. believe me when i say the sea link project is 99% dead in the water

hmm good points actually bb.(not the dead sea link part)

but whats ya solution then? to our traffic woes.

In general though i agree with the points you have made.

As per your knowledge is the trans harbour link dead as well?

trans-harbour is across a harbour, it does not run parallel to a coast-line. it should get clearance (if the monkeys in the GoM get their act together)

my solution as always is public transport. i dont see the point in spending 10-12,000 crores to encourage more cars into nariman point. you can make a fully u/g metro line of 40-50 kms with that, which will have a much, much better end effect

trans-harbour is across a harbour, it does not run parallel to a coast-line. it should get clearance (if the monkeys in the GoM get their act together)

my solution as always is public transport. i dont see the point in spending 10-12,000 crores to encourage more cars into nariman point. you can make a fully u/g metro line of 40-50 kms with that, which will have a much, much better end effect

hmm but BB we already have very low personal car density as a city. Its naturally bound to rise somewhat no? I mean from 1 car per 100 people to say 2-3 cars per 100 people? (just an example)No matter how much public transport is invested in.

glad to hear though the trans harbour link is not dead.


Maybe in that case we should also have underground tunnels. Cant think of anything else. Cause car density will rise from a very low base.

lol! you know whats the really funny bit. the present sea link has none of the statutory clearances itself! its as much an illegal structure as most of the slums in bombay

in my opinion you can kiss the whole sea link project goodbye (thank god). it would be quite something if the present one is allowed to stay

How come this bridge came up in the first place? We are not talking about a bloody small slum or even something like Dharavi, we are talking about a huge Government Infrastructure and Millions of rupees investment. I thought that all the environmental and other "needed" clearances would have been sought before going such a stupendous construction.

just wait for a big dhamaka in a couple of weeks to a month

till date the present sea link does not have 3 of the major statutory clearances. viva la indian democracy!

in fact if you guys saw the official papers i have seen you would despair a lot more about how india, esp its government, works than you do now

trans-harbour is across a harbour, it does not run parallel to a coast-line. it should get clearance (if the monkeys in the GoM get their act together)

my solution as always is public transport. i dont see the point in spending 10-12,000 crores to encourage more cars into nariman point. you can make a fully u/g metro line of 40-50 kms with that, which will have a much, much better end effect
The transharbour link faces the same problem as the sealink .They will have to change the alignment if they need that project to pass(if they havent got the clearance already).The underground metro is not going to start anytime soon. The waterways and BRTS along with a better developed railways is a much better bet than the metro .Less expenditure on infra, more affordable .

Transharbour link had already received environmental clearance...remember the fiasco where Reliance bros had a bidding war and was ultimately cancelled....

If the Sion-Panvel (Vashi bridge) and the Airoli bridge could get environmental clearances, I don't see why the Trans-harbour link can't (apart from the cost factor due to the much longer length involved)....All the bridges are over the same creek....

IMO, the Colaba-Bandra combined with Bandra-Charkop is the most important metro link in mumbai...underground or otherwise its absolutely essential. It will hit 40,000 pphpd capacity immediately taking the load of WR.

But I agree, it would be good if they atleast start with BRTS initally on the WEH and EEH reducing some pressure of the suburban system....

MUTP II whenever its complete will help in moving the outstation trains away from the fast train track...

the only link that has been recommended by experts is bandra-worli (i.e. across mahim bay only, not the present alignment). nowhere in the world do you have a bridge running 50-100 feet away from the entire coastal length of a city and for very many good reasons, major ones being

1. loss of sea view for the entire city (this should not be under-estimated by those not living in bombay)
2. environmental pollution and changing of tides that leads to degradation of beaches and finally non-usability of any beach (just look at what has happened to dadar chowpatty)
3. security threat due to restriction of movement of coast guard/navy in territorial waters
4. entails construction in CRZ-1 area, which is NOT allowed under any circumstances by the supreme court order of 1991

etc etc

all these points are well described in papers relating to the sea-link. i have seen almost all of them and you would be shocked to see the way this project has ignored almost all laws to date (or maybe not that shocked). the MOEF is not sitting over the extension for some flippant reasons. believe me when i say the sea link project is 99% dead in the water


I think you are misinformed.

1) The trans-harbor sealink will be 22 km long and cross the harbor (http://www.msrdc.org/Projects/images/MTHL_01.jpg) and not follow the coastline
2) For any country to progress, it has to build infrastructure and often times it is at the cost of the environment. Still, environment clearance will be gotten before they build this bridge.
3) a trans-harbour bridge does not change tides.
4) the coast guard boats can go under the bridge so no security threat

This bridge will be a vital link between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

Transharbour link had already received environmental clearance...remember the fiasco where Reliance bros had a bidding war and was ultimately cancelled....


The place where the bridge is coming up is home to flamingoes and several mangroves will have to be cleared if this bridge needs to come up.If this project has got environmental clearance then I dont see why the govt should have any trouble in getting clearance for the worli haji sea link.

I think you are misinformed.

1) The trans-harbor sealink will be 22 km long and cross the harbor (http://www.msrdc.org/Projects/images/MTHL_01.jpg) and not follow the coastline

err, yes. thats exactly what i said

I agree with sumant.

the water ways are our only bet.

also for the western side

hmm might be wise to I guess make a link with the eastern freeway and WEH considering the eastern freeway is the only major road without many signals to stretch to Nariman point.

yes waterways, which are shut down for 4 months a year and which will have no stops between bandra and nariman point

metro-metro-metro. if you have stations within walking distance of every mumbaikar you obviate the need for massive investments in road

just wait for a big dhamaka in a couple of weeks to a month

till date the present sea link does not have 3 of the major statutory clearances. viva la indian democracy!

So what they will be dismantling the bridge as a whole? I doubt that scenario would even happen.

yes waterways, which are shut down for 4 months a year and which will have no stops between bandra and nariman point

metro-metro-metro. if you have stations within walking distance of every mumbaikar you obviate the need for massive investments in road

dude even our metro planning is fcuked. stations are just too small to handle capacity. You know how MMDRA fcuked up the Versova Andheri line.

It has planning violation after planning violation.

So what they will be dismantling the bridge as a whole? I doubt that scenario would even happen.

legally they have to. but then who said laws are followed in india, least of all by the government

dude even our metro planning is fcuked. stations are just too small to handle capacity. You know how MMDRA fcuked up the Versova Andheri line.

It has planning violation after planning violation.

of course. thats part and parcel of 'planning' in india. hopefully if one major project is made an example then they will finally realise the importance of following the law. but thats probably wishful thinking :nuts:

yes waterways, which are shut down for 4 months a year and which will have no stops between bandra and nariman point

metro-metro-metro. if you have stations within walking distance of every mumbaikar you obviate the need for massive investments in road
yea, the metro is not gonna be built anytime soon . so while people keep on crying till the metro is built I would rather have an alternative mode of public transport to railways which would take the load off the road till the metro gets built if and when it gets built .

well so its settled the western freeway project is dead.

I guess we need to pedder road flyover more than ever.

peddar road flyover is not likely to get clearance for encroaching on girgaum chowpatty beach, and without that its pretty pointless as speed will have to be limited to below 20 km/h at the turn. so yeah, its pretty dead as well

peddar road flyover is not likely to get clearance for encroaching on girgaum chowpatty beach, and without that its pretty pointless as speed will have to be limited to below 20 km/h at the turn. so yeah, its pretty dead as well

god fucking dammit.

is there anything in which is not without issues.

I hate this fucking city.:bash::bash::bash::bash:

these are all very valid issues and would be the same in every country

the problem lies in the planning, which instead of viable, doable projects tries to pass off hare-brained schemes as bombay's nirvana

2. environmental pollution and changing of tides that leads to degradation of beaches and finally non-usability of any beach (just look at what has happened to dadar chowpatty)


Eh, what? Dadar chowpatty's been a miserable excuse for a beach ever since I can remember (and that's way before any sea link happened).

Not saying the BWSL and similar other projects wouldn't have an environmental impact, but I don't see where it's made Dadar beach worse, at the least

umm, there is almost no dadar chowpatty anymore. the tide is now near the building walls and sometimes beyond along most stretches

Apparently Reliance is to sign the deal for WHASL today.....lets wait n watch, n keep a lookout for this space all day long....

Worli-Haji Ali sea link deal today (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_worli-haji-ali-sea-link-deal-today_1402152)

Ofcourse, there is no letup on the Peddar Road controversy, so the faster they come up with an alignment plan for the rest of WIF all the way to NPt, the better......

Apparently Reliance is to sign the deal for WHASL today.....lets wait n watch, n keep a lookout for this space all day long....

Worli-Haji Ali sea link deal today (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_worli-haji-ali-sea-link-deal-today_1402152)

Ofcourse, there is no letup on the Peddar Road controversy, so the faster they come up with an alignment plan for the rest of WIF all the way to NPt, the better......


if the western freeway goes through. I see no need for a pedder road flyover.

if the western freeway goes through. I see no need for a pedder road flyover.

Firstly, it might take a lot less time to build a double-decker flyover on Pedder Rd (only the second in India!!!) than having to wait for the sea-link-cum-deep bore tunnel-cum-bridge over Tambe Chowk-cum-CnC tunnel along Marine Drive!!! However, given the traffic projections, it would be a good idea to build both, and at the same time, plan to have a bypass from the southern end of the Pedder viaduct to the Eastern Freeway. This way, there will some sorta semi-circular circumnavigator around SoBo, which should help in routing traffic more efficiently.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/Web/HTMumbai/Article/2010/06/28/005/28_06_2010_005_011.jpg

Still next year? I say: 5 years!

Still next year? I say: 5 years!

More like 42 months post financial closure per CNBC

I think what was intended to be said was that work will begin once the financial closure is done, and Reliance has till 12/28/10 to do that. Assuming that they are able to achieve closure before that date, work can actually begin in 2010 itself, if Reliance so chooses.

I think the waiting period has been about 1.75 years, mostly because of MahaGov's lethargy.

Per Reliance Infra second phase of BWSL (i.e. Worli-Harji Ali Sealink) would be commissioned by June 2014

bb i thought according to you this was going to get cancelled?

News is filtering out that Anil Ambani will finish it in 4 years? so where is the issue?

From everything BB has said on this thread I could only gather that, if we are to follow the letter of the law, this sea link should not be built .

However, seeing as one big breach (as per BB) already exists, I doubt Reliance is going to care about any ostensibly illegal construction that's willingly sanctioned by the GoM.

the only link that has been recommended by experts is bandra-worli (i.e. across mahim bay only, not the present alignment). nowhere in the world do you have a bridge running 50-100 feet away from the entire coastal length of a city and for very many good reasons, major ones being


completely Agree this will spoil the view from Worli seaface, only BWSL was required. The idle (Not practical) option is to Plan to widen the existing roads from Worli to NP by redeveloping the buildings on both sides of the road and make the road 8-10 lane. This is what has been done in Shanghai, they demolished most of the buildings atleast those comming on the path of the planned roads.
The other practical solutions have already been suggested earlier by others like - underground or multi level flyover or just a simple flyover on top of existing road like JJ flyover.

The idle (Not practical) option is to Plan to widen the existing roads from Worli to NP by redeveloping the buildings on both sides of the road and make the road 8-10 lane. This is what has been done in Shanghai, they demolished most of the buildings atleast those comming on the path of the planned roads

Wow, Netaji Nagar type PAP scenario in Pedder Road ... that would be fun :lol:

"We have offered them 8 flats each of 220 sq ft in Bharat Nagar BKC, or Goregaon , or Nahur." said Ratnakar Gaikwad. "They have rejected all these options. We may have no alternative but to forcefully evict them".

Wow, Netaji Nagar type PAP scenario in Pedder Road ... that would be fun :lol:

"We have offered them 8 flats each of 220 sq ft in Bharat Nagar BKC, or Goregaon , or Nahur." said Ratnakar Gaikwad. "They have rejected all these options. We may have no alternative but to forcefully evict them".
That's why I mentioned Ideal(Not practical) option :)
I believe Shanghai has used force to an certain extent which have helped them to develop Modern Shanghai with broad roads and good Skyscrapers. In our case the width of Pedder Road or any other road cannot be ever increased by a substantial margin ever.

From everything BB has said on this thread I could only gather that, if we are to follow the letter of the law, this sea link should not be built .

However, seeing as one big breach (as per BB) already exists, I doubt Reliance is going to care about any ostensibly illegal construction that's willingly sanctioned by the GoM.

do you think someone will pay 1600 crores to buy an illegal property and spend another 2500 crores to extend it, without any guarantee that it will not be shut down/demolished/put in limbo on court orders?

reliance is smarter than that i would think

do you think someone will pay 1600 crores to buy an illegal property and spend another 2500 crores to extend it, without any guarantee that it will not be shut down/demolished/put in limbo on court orders?

reliance is smarter than that i would think

based on that logic i am guessing 50% of the city and its slums would be demolished.

apples and oranges

for reliance the question is would it be worth the risk. with current traffic levels and future projections it would be quite handy for them if they dont follow through with the deal. they will not be able to service the interest with the toll income, let alone the principal

apples and oranges

for reliance the question is would it be worth the risk. with current traffic levels and future projections it would be quite handy for them if they dont follow through with the deal. they will not be able to service the interest with the toll income, let alone the principal

Why would all of this be breaking news to Reliance anyway? Wouldn't they have even entered into the bids being fully aware of these issues?

Or are you saying this is some massive cover-up that has recently been unearthed?

Vaise knowing Reliance they're probably quite capable of ensuring that if they do buy it out, no court ever comes anywhere near issuing an order against it

Wow, Netaji Nagar type PAP scenario in Pedder Road ... that would be fun :lol:

"We have offered them 8 flats each of 220 sq ft in Bharat Nagar BKC, or Goregaon , or Nahur." said Ratnakar Gaikwad. "They have rejected all these options. We may have no alternative but to forcefully evict them".

If the same ratio is to be maintained, either MMRDA will have to buy flats for the likes of Lata Mangeshkar twice the size of the property she lives in right now, or have her forcibly evicted.....

Hmmmmmmmmmm......Is the MMRDA game?! Ofcourse, the blokes along Worli Sea Face are gonna crib about their view being spoilt....obv, they dont give a damn about the folks in Bandra/Mahim when they cribbed the same....I would love to see what happens when the spoilt brats in Malabar Hill have a tunnel dug under the houses.....that will one heckuva PIL coming up!!! Cant wait for it to happen!!!

Anyways, MMRDA promises tenders for HANPtSL by 2011 April....lets wait n watch!!!

last few pages make me feel as if the future is not bright for mumbai! someone post something positive to balance things out lol.

^^

Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Source: TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Mumbai/Deal-inked-for-Haji-Ali-sea-link/articleshow/6103883.cms)

So the deal is signed and Reliance shud finish it off in 42 months after fin-closure in Dec'10 ... so by 2014, construction should be over ... :cheers:

--------------------------------------------------

MUMBAI: Recommended way back in 1970, the Western Freeway sea link’s second part, Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link (WHSL), was finally put into execution mode by the state government on Monday evening.

The project, supposed to be ready in 42 months starting from December 2010, promises to cut down on the travel time between Bandra and Haji Ali from 60 minutes to 13 minutes as the proposed bridge will bypass 27 traffic signals in stretch between Bandra and Haji Ali.

Currently, over 48,000 vehicles use the Bandra Worli Sea link every day and experts feel that the figure will increase to 1.20 lakh per day after the Haji Ali part is commissioned.

The consortium of Reliance Sea Link One Private Ltd (RSLOPL) and Hyundai Engineering and Construction Pvt Ltd on Monday signed an agreement with state agency MSRDC to build the 3.4-km (7 km including connectors) link over the sea at a ceremony held at Hotel Trident in the evening.

"It will be a challenging task to build this bridge in just 42 months and we are going to achieve the target," said CEO of Reliance Infrastructure Lalit Jalan. Sonia Sethi, MD of MSRDC, assured to clear all approvals so that the construction could get over within the deadline without any hassles. "Though the entire Western Freeway sea link from Bandra to Nariman Point has already received environmental clearance, approvals for small changes in the design at Worli and Haji Ali are expected soon," said Sethi.

"We have already started the process in order to put men and machinery on the job. With the financial closure in December this year, we will start on the actual construction," said Jalan. The WHSL is expected to be thrown open to the public by June 2014.

lol! i guess i was wrong. my sources tell me reliance managed to get a clause in the contract that said all clearances are the responsibility of msrdc, which was not there earlier. i see there is no mention yet of reliance paying 1600 crores to take over the present link. i wonder when are they supposed to be doing that, since the msrdc is pretty desperate for that money

Heh..what I said.. Anilbhai koi lallu-panju nahin hai - he'll find ways to build the thing, make money off it, AND keep himself safe.

Who knows, he might even try to wangle a discount from MSRDC for the BWSL by squaring off HCC with an "offer they can't refuse" :lol:

last few pages make me feel as if the future is not bright for mumbai! someone post something positive to balance things out lol.

Here is the Good news -

This Article mentions that Envoironmental clearance is already there.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Deal-inked-for-Haji-Ali-sea-link/articleshow/6103883.cms

"Though the entire Western Freeway sea link from Bandra to Nariman Point has already received environmental clearance, approvals for small changes in the design at Worli and Haji Ali are expected soon, said Sethi. "

This means that the BWSL is legal and the upcomming links are also legal.

well all this episode has taught me is never to trust BB's sources.


joking BB joking.



anyways 2014 seems allright in the grand scheme of things.


2025 western freeway too seems right based on the links apart from this to be built.

are we not calling him bobo anymore? :(

BoBo made a BooBoo ;)

oh yeah I forgot about that

hahahahahaha that still makes me laugh

btw guys niknak has made a map of the western freeway etc.

I cant seem to find it.

Here is the Good news -

This Article mentions that Envoironmental clearance is already there.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Deal-inked-for-Haji-Ali-sea-link/articleshow/6103883.cms

"Though the entire Western Freeway sea link from Bandra to Nariman Point has already received environmental clearance, approvals for small changes in the design at Worli and Haji Ali are expected soon, said Sethi. "

This means that the BWSL is legal and the upcomming links are also legal.

lol! no it isnt. not the first time the indian media has no clue

2 links have environmental clearance

1. bwsl - which is from reclamation to worli point, i.e. worli fort (not worli sea face)
2. wfsl - which is from worli point to nariman point with 2 connectors only (haji ali, which is a different alignment to the one proposed now, and bhulabhai desai road). it is also all in the sea

besides this none of the links have been incorporated into the mmrda mumbai town plan, which is a pre-requisite before even starting construction. there are a host of other preconditions that have not been followed

at the appropriate time i will scan the relevant pages and put it up here. but i cant do that now :D

i must admit though that i am very surprised reliance signed the agreement, since they do know about these violations now. they must have put a host of new clauses in the agreement to safe-guard themselves, not to mention backing out would cause problems for their other infra bids with the GoM. also like i said there is no mention of them paying msrdc yet, so they may be waiting for the new developments which should happen soon (hopefully)

and any indian citizen can verify the given permissions by applying to the ministry of environment, msrdc and mmrda. the RTI act is a wonderful thing. might take you some time and lots of appeals though :D

BB your sources flopped :D

they did, but the facts still remain. i cant really tell why reliance still decided to go ahead. hopefully i should get some news from them this week. this has to be a decision by anil himself, for probably bigger reasons

as long as i have the last laugh its all good

just messing with ya calm down :D. I know ya sources are good.

but why all this venom against the project? something has to be done even with a good metro system.

2 links have environmental clearance

1. bwsl - which is from reclamation to worli point, i.e. worli fort (not worli sea face)
2. wfsl - which is from worli point to nariman point with 2 connectors only (haji ali, which is a different alignment to the one proposed now, and bhulabhai desai road). it is also all in the sea



This means atleast environmental clearance is there-so it should not be a big issue. Am I Right? For the second link link they mentioned "approvals for small changes in the design at Worli and Haji Ali are expected soon".
Incorporating the links in MMRDA town plan should not be a big issue even if it's not done before construction starts. Correct me if I am wrong.

Now that the deal has been inked, any guesses how long will it take to build the thing? Based on the Bandra-Worli link time frame will it take another decade or 3-4 yrs?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/6104539.cms

This means atleast environmental clearance is there-so it should not be a big issue. Am I Right? For the second link link they mentioned "approvals for small changes in the design at Worli and Haji Ali are expected soon".
Incorporating the links in MMRDA town plan should not be a big issue even if it's not done before construction starts. Correct me if I am wrong.

changing the alignment is not a small deal. you need an entirely fresh clearance. its like saying i want to build a tower in nariman point and you get all the clearances for one plot and then shift the entire tower to malabar hill and say i dont need any new clearances

they can easily build the sea link at the designated landings - worli fort, old haji ali exit (but they wont find that easy since the old alignment goes over the walkway to the dargah) and bhulabhai desai road (dont see how that will be easy either). not to mention the current nariman point alignment, which goes right across the bay absolutely destroying the beauty of the place

also there are loads of pre-conditions for the clearances. most of these have not been complied with for the bwsl. quite a few of them are defence related as well. but sadly our indian navy does not seem so interested in making sure conditions are met and the security of the city is safeguarded

incorporating in the mmrda town plan is a MUST legally. funny thing is the state has no power to put the sea link on the town plan, since the seas of india belong to the union of india, not the state :D

most of these details should be out in the media in the next few months

Now that the deal has been inked, any guesses how long will it take to build the thing? Based on the Bandra-Worli link time frame will it take another decade or 3-4 yrs?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/6104539.cms

if all clearances are met reliance officially said it wants to build it in 42 months. i know that anil has put an internal target of 30 months or less

Here is the Good news -

This Article mentions that Envoironmental clearance is already there.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Deal-inked-for-Haji-Ali-sea-link/articleshow/6103883.cms

"Though the entire Western Freeway sea link from Bandra to Nariman Point has already received environmental clearance, approvals for small changes in the design at Worli and Haji Ali are expected soon, said Sethi. "

This means that the BWSL is legal and the upcomming links are also legal.

Well, if BWSL was not legal, I am sure the Congress party wud have a lot of explaining to do about naming it after Rajiv.....

that brings me to a thought....what would they name the Worli Haji Ali sea link??? Indira Gandhi Samudra Setu?????????????:lol::lol::bash:

Anyways, now the Phase II has formally been set to motion, the hype for Phase III and Phase IV (?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) has already begun!!!

http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20100629/372/tbs-bandra-versova-haji-ali-nariman-poin.html (http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20100629/372/tbs-bandra-versova-haji-ali-nariman-poin.html)

I am sure Haji Ali-NPt will be built, and so will some sorta viaduct at Pedder Rd. But what about Versova-Bandra.....where will they get the land for that?????????????????

In video the news from NDTV ... look at "SEAL Link : Phase 2" ... lol

9eGerfAXKOU

changing the alignment is not a small deal. you need an entirely fresh clearance. its like saying i want to build a tower in nariman point and you get all the clearances for one plot and then shift the entire tower to malabar hill and say i dont need any new clearances


The news article mentions SLIGHT change in alignment. I don't know how slight it is. Lets wait and see.


they can easily build the sea link at the designated landings - worli fort, old haji ali exit (but they wont find that easy since the old alignment goes over the walkway to the dargah) and bhulabhai desai road (dont see how that will be easy either). not to mention the current nariman point alignment, which goes right across the bay absolutely destroying the beauty of the place

The Link from Priyadarshani park to NP will be underground. At least that is what the current plan is as the elevated link will ruin the beauty of marine drive.
The elevated link will only be from Haji Ali to Priyadarshani park.

Now for this link(Haji Ali to Priyadarshani park) - Is there any scope of building a coastal road similar to marine drive by reclaming the sea?
or instead of building the link 100 meters away from the coast at a height of say 20 meters (i am just making up the number) can it be brought closer to the coast as much as possible so that the height of the link is as near to ground level as possible. This will not block the sea view. Also we can have a broad walkway all along the link with the FOB from the main city to reach there for the people to enjoy the uninterrrupted sea view.

Something similar should be done for Versova Bandra link also.

Any comments on the above options

The news article mentions SLIGHT change in alignment. I don't know how slight it is. Lets wait and see.


The Link from Priyadarshani park to NP will be underground. At least that is what the current plan is as the elevated link will ruin the beauty of marine drive.
The elevated link will only be from Haji Ali to Priyadarshani park.

Now for this link(Haji Ali to Priyadarshani park) - Is there any scope of building a coastal road similar to marine drive by reclaming the sea?
or instead of building the link 100 meters away from the coast at a height of say 20 meters (i am just making up the number) can it be brought closer to the coast as much as possible so that the height of the link is as near to ground level as possible. This will not block the sea view. Also we can have a broad walkway all along the link with the FOB from the main city to reach there for the people to enjoy the uninterrrupted sea view.

Something similar should be done for Versova Bandra link also.

Any comments on the above options

I think the link will be as foll:

Haji Ali-Priyadarshini: traditional sea link design
Priyadarshini-Malabar Hill: surface/elevated road
Malabar Hill: deep bore tunnel
Malabar Hill-Tambe Chowk: elevated road
Tambe Chowk-NPt: CnC tunnel
NPt-Cuffe Parade: ?????

I think the link will be as foll:

Haji Ali-Priyadarshini: traditional sea link design
Priyadarshini-Malabar Hill: surface/elevated road
Malabar Hill: deep bore tunnel
Malabar Hill-Tambe Chowk: elevated road
Tambe Chowk-NPt: CnC tunnel
NPt-Cuffe Parade: ?????

No - It's Underground from Priyadarshani.
Here is the source
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/worlihaji-ali-sea-link-peddar-road-flyover-get-green-signal-finally/584623/0

Following feasibility studies, the government has decided to construct a sea link from Haji Ali to Priyadarshini Park. a deep (drill and blast) tunnel from there to Tambe Chowk via Malabar Hill and then a “cut and cover” tunnel from Tambe Chowk to Nariman Point. Cut-and-cover is a simple and cost-effective method of construction for shallow tunnels where a trench is excavated and roofed over. A strong overhead support system is required to carry the load of the covering material.

But yet no comments on the options mentioned in my previous post - 1) Coastal road by reclaming sea. 2) very low level elevated road as close to coast as possible. These options might better suite Bandra Versova link.

No - It's Underground from Priyadarshani.
Here is the source
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/worlihaji-ali-sea-link-peddar-road-flyover-get-green-signal-finally/584623/0

Following feasibility studies, the government has decided to construct a sea link from Haji Ali to Priyadarshini Park. a deep (drill and blast) tunnel from there to Tambe Chowk via Malabar Hill and then a “cut and cover” tunnel from Tambe Chowk to Nariman Point. Cut-and-cover is a simple and cost-effective method of construction for shallow tunnels where a trench is excavated and roofed over. A strong overhead support system is required to carry the load of the covering material.

But yet no comments on the options mentioned in my previous post - 1) Coastal road by reclaming sea. 2) very low level elevated road as close to coast as possible. These options might better suite Bandra Versova link.

The Shivaji statue in Nariman Point is one project I hope that never gets off the ground!!!

just a few points

1. the current clearance is for a link fully in the sea from worli to NP, no u/g sections

2. reclaiming land for a coastal road would imo be almost impossible for such a long stretch. forget jairam ramesh, no minister will clear it. hiranandani had such a plan for bombay in the 90s. he wanted to reclaim 100 metres (or more) of land throughout the length of the western coast of bombay to build a road and also a city-length park. great idea in principle, but no one took him seriously

just a few points

reclaiming land for a coastal road would imo be almost impossible for such a long stretch. forget jairam ramesh, no minister will clear it. hiranandani had such a plan for bombay in the 90s. he wanted to reclaim 100 metres (or more) of land throughout the length of the western coast of bombay to build a road and also a city-length park. great idea in principle, but no one took him seriously

Humm Good to know. How about building a low level elevated road almost touching the coast only whereever possible in the sections where sealink is planned? this may be a better option than haveing sealink 200 meter away from the coast in the sea.

Few more Qs -

1) Does Juhu beach come in between Bandra and Versova sea link ? If yes how will the alignment be. It has to be underground in that stretch ?

2) Does Worli- Haji Ali link goes behind Haji Ali Dargah ? If yes I am just trying to imagine how will it look :)

Humm Good to know. How about building a low level elevated road almost touching the coast only whereever possible in the sections where sealink is planned? this may be a better option than haveing sealink 200 meter away from the coast in the sea.

Few more Qs -

1) Does Juhu beach come in between Bandra and Versova sea link ? If yes how will the alignment be. It has to be underground in that stretch ?

2) Does Worli- Haji Ali link goes behind Haji Ali Dargah ? If yes I am just trying to imagine how will it look :)

I think they dont want to ruin the view of the beach

Reliance will be ultra quick when it comes to getting cleareances, I'm certain they will have their way with the Govt. departments. Every day that there s a delay Reliance losses money and thats what hurts them most, with their clout in the Govt. i predict a time frame no more than 3.5 years to this day.

Reliance will be ultra quick when it comes to getting cleareances, I'm certain they will have their way with the Govt. departments. Every day that there s a delay Reliance losses money and thats what hurts them most, with their clout in the Govt. i predict a time frame no more than 3.5 years to this day.

hmm hope so......




Another question is do they have to always construct one link at a time? Is there a law or constraint saying that you cant construct all parts of the western free way in sobo?

Another question is do they have to always construct one link at a time? Is there a law or constraint saying that you cant construct all parts of the western free way in sobo?

True, but only if they can get some one big enough to bet that much money all in one go....and I doubt there would be any private player willing to outlay so much of money all in one shot....if they had decided to WHASL and HANPtSL all in one go, that would mean a commitment of anything upwards of 11000 cr INR (5k + 6k for the 2 sections) in one shot....and I am not even sure how much Phase III's costs actually are, considering that there will be 2 u/g sections and a short haul sea link.....

True, but only if they can get some one big enough to bet that much money all in one go....and I doubt there would be any private player willing to outlay so much of money all in one shot....if they had decided to WHASL and HANPtSL all in one go, that would mean a commitment of anything upwards of 11000 cr INR (5k + 6k for the 2 sections) in one shot....and I am not even sure how much Phase III's costs actually are, considering that there will be 2 u/g sections and a short haul sea link.....

no but say

Reliance bids building one part.

Tata bids building another part.

Birla bids building another part.


the government pays them for their efforts.

no but say

Reliance bids building one part.

Tata bids building another part.

Birla bids building another part.


the government pays them for their efforts.

May be, but will work only if all three implementers sync up their designs and constructions schedules....given that actual construction on ground zero is done by sub-contractors (who might be mutual competitors on the field), syncing up would be a veritable nightmare.....I dont think MMRDA will even consider such an option....they r not so hairbrained, ye see.....!!!:)

May be, but will work only if all three implementers sync up their designs and constructions schedules....given that actual construction on ground zero is done by sub-contractors (who might be mutual competitors on the field), syncing up would be a veritable nightmare.....I dont think MMRDA will even consider such an option....they r not so hairbrained, ye see.....!!!:)

true enough i guess.

true enough i guess.

Dont get me wrong....not that it cannot be done, technically speaking....but also needs a lotta discipline within yrself....I am not too optimistic abt our national character right now!!!

Glad to know that this is still alive.

http://www.dnaindia.com/
'Metro, Worli-Haji Ali sea link work on schedule'

DNA / Ninad Siddhaye / Tuesday, August 17, 2010 0:55 IST
Reliance Infrastructure of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group will invest almost Rs20,000 crore for two lines of the elevated metro (approximately 40 km) and taking the Bandra-Worli Sea Link up to Haji Ali. Also, the company will build a line of the Delhi Metro. DNA spoke to the man at the helm of managing this huge challenge: Lalit Jalan, the chief executive officer of Reliance Infrastructure.

What are the hurdles that you faced while working on the Mumbai Metro?

The Mumbai Metro project is very close to the hearts of everyone in RInfra. We are developing Mumbai Metro I and II. It is challenging and exciting. I must tell you that both these projects are on schedule and I am sure that Mumbaikars will cherish the experience. The landmark project is one of the first steps in restructuring Mumbai.

We faced numerous constraints while working on busy city roads, acquiring land and the elusive 'right of way’. In Metro I, a single window clearance was not available; our engineers had to deal with several people for various approvals. Getting traffic clearance was another challenge.

Since there is heavy traffic on roads during the day, loading and unloading heavy equipment at the site is a big challenge.

Various companies work simultaneously on the project — some may work underground while some on roads. Every company has its own procedures. We have overcome most of the challenges through tailed planning by project management teams and innovative engineering solutions. We have to mention that government agencies, particularly MMRDA, supported us.

Delhi Metro is supposed to start before the Commonwealth Games…

The project outlay for the three metro projects in Mumbai and Delhi is Rs16,000 crore and we have 8,000 people working.

The Delhi Metro project will be operational before the games. This is a showcase product, and I am sure it would please everyone associated with the games. We have got three trains from Spain and trial runs are on. Negotiations for lease rental is underway.


The company has bagged the Worli-Haji Ali sea link work. What about that?

We are committed to complete the project by 2014. With an investment outlay of Rs5,100 crore, this sea link would reduce travel time from 60 minutes to 13 minutes; it bypasses 27 traffic signals between Bandra and Haji Ali. We will start construction work in December. The toll operations for Phase I (Bandra-Worli) will commence from December from RInfra platform.

RInfra is building a huge portfolio of infrastructure projects. Is there any plan to raise new equity?

RInfra has sufficient cash and cash equivalent of Rs 8,100 crore. Existing businesses are generating a stable cash flow and a comfortable level on internal accruals. We do not foresee any equity requirement in the future.

What is the issue with Tata Power; when can consumers expect a solution?

More than 1,000 people participated in the first public hearing held by MERC on June 28. The government has acknowledged that the generation capacity created and paid for by consumers of Mumbai should continue to supply power to them at a regulated rate. RInfra has initiated a process to get 1,500 MW under case 1 bidding and within that we have already tied up 385 MW of power for Mumbaikars.

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/interview_metro-worli-haji-ali-sea-link-work-on-schedule_1424454-all

Yeah right. Lets see how much they are "committed".

If it is not completed Anil Ambani will drive his car of the uncompleted bridge into the bay.

Finally work has started on ground or should i say on water
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/2338/ped098.jpg (http://img35.imageshack.us/i/ped098.jpg/)

wow its really great news that its started finally...... :cheers:

wow man... its a big surprise!!

Great. Lets hope work gets done in the next 2 (or should I say 10?) years.

wait... this is serious?

ha. im impressed, barely 18 months behind schedule

Hard to believe..

A better quality one from the sea link, the boat next to it was carrying the workers.

A better quality one from the sea link, the boat next to it was carrying the workers.
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/7736/ped102.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/i/ped102.jpg/)

Thanks Coolguyz :)

thanks for the update coolguyz:)

Thanks ccolguyz. Hopefully this is not the only structure we see for the next few years and the pace of work really picks up..

its probably an exploratory rig. its still not got environmental clearance

Keep sealink away from dargah

THE Expert Appraisal Committee ( EAC) of Union Ministry of Environment and Forest yesterday instructed the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation ( MSRDC) to keep the Worli- Haji Ali sea link away from the Haji Ali dargah, if it wants environmental clearance for the project.

A senior MSRDC official said, “ We have been clearly instructed to keep the sea link away from the dargah and also to shift the connector of the bridge one- km away from Haji Ali, which means on Rajni Patel Road.” The four- lane connector of the 7 km- long sea link was going to end at the Haji Ali junction as per earlier plans but the EAC recommended changes citing security reasons.

In June 2010, Reliance Sea Link One Private Ltd and Hyundai Engineering and Construction bagged the project for constructing the Worli- Haji Ali sea link. Once completed, the sea link is expected to cut down travel time from 45 minutes to 15.

source : Mid-Day

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

a team from the environment ministry was in bombay over the last 2 days visiting various sites like the airport, sealink, mthl, etc

it isnt a rig, certainly not this close to the coast, the damage caused by it is certainly more dangerous than digging pillars . the whole environmental thing is an eyewash,even today some say BWSL hasnt got all the clearences. plus new equipment is being bought in at old BWSL construction site. they may be soil testing now just like reliance did for metro line 2 before achieving financial closure and the actual construction will only start after achieving financial closure i.e in Dec

In June 2010, Reliance Sea Link One Private Ltd and Hyundai Engineering and Construction bagged the project for constructing the Worli- Haji Ali sea link.

I don't understand their fetish for "One". First Mumbai metro one and now Reliance sea link one.

Fetish? :lol:

I don't understand their fetish for "One". First Mumbai metro one and now Reliance sea link one.

Might be similar to the reason kusa was skyscrapercity101, then skyscrapercity 102........ :)

hmm i think 3 years is a realistic date for this to be finished....

Glad to see the work done. Its an easier project to implement.

I am not optimistic for 3 years after BWSL experience. I would say 5 years.

Primary delay for bwsl was the fishermens agitation/lawsuits iirc....whsl in principle, should be simpler. But you never know :(

i dont see this ever happening. or more like i hope it never happens

i dont see this ever happening. or more like i hope it never happens

Yeah, I kind of don't want this to happen either. It will completely mess up the view/atmosphere. :ohno: Haji Ali area/Worli won't really be the same.

i dont see this ever happening. or more like i hope it never happens

Why so mad, BoBo ? ..... Ruin your view or do u have other concerns ?

for me its the view. also cant we be spending this money on rail infrastructure instead? I feel were only encouraging more private transport. being part of the problem, not the solution.

^^
Exactly. :)

cant you spend on both rail and road?

Plus wont the view look good at night with the bridge tastefully illuminated?

BWSL looks awesome at night.

Granted the view during the day wont be as good as looking at the open blue sea, but the advantage is that at night when you cant see the sea this will actually improve the view right?

atleast for me

the rest of the sea links will not have any cable stayed spans. so no, they wont look good at night

no road is worth losing one of bombay's biggest and most precious assets, its sea view

the rest of the sea links will not have any cable stayed spans. so no, they wont look good at night

no road is worth losing one of bombay's biggest and most precious assets, its sea view

well haji ali dargah does not have a cable styled bridge either but looks fantastic at night.The point being illumination.


surely some good illumination will be an asset at night than staring into the darkness?



btw does anybody have a render of the bridge design?

there is no 'design'. its going to be like the non cable-stayed parts of the bwsl. pylons at regular distances and a car deck on top

I'm all for infrastructure but not when changing a fundamental characteristic of the city. This is going to be a big ugly scar. At least the Bandra Worli Sea Link actually looked pretty, unlike what this monster will look. Haji Ali area will never be the same again. Why not spend on public transport, like metro instead. I have a feeling fifty years from now we will look back on this and shake our heads with regret.

I'm all for infrastructure but not when changing a fundamental characteristic of the city. This is going to be a big ugly scar. At least the Bandra Worli Sea Link actually looked pretty, unlike what this monster will look. Haji Ali area will never be the same again. Why not spend on public transport, like metro instead. I have a feeling fifty years from now we will look back on this and shake our heads with regret.

they are spending on metro as well. So you cant accuse them of only going down the road route

Plus you can potentially ply an express lane bus (dedicated lanes ) right along the western freeway when its complete right the way to Nariman point to add the public transport dimension to it.

I would say running a BRTS right along start of WEH to Nariman on a dedicated bus lane is very much doable owing to the wide nature of the roads. Might be quite handy.

You can have western burbs till bandra to Worli

Burbs till bandra to haji ali

Burbs till bandra to Nariman point.

Express service travelling at 50-60 km per hour...at a frequency of 3 minutes per bus.

if the above happens then the city gets a very means of public transport on the freeway


and yeah your right in the sense that the view will be destroyed. But not all the view of the city.The people who live there yes, their view is gone and probably their property prices will also be hit slightly (may not grow as fast as some other areas) People still have marine drive for that magical sea view :lol: Infact i would rate Marine drive as having the best views in the city. Though its just the sea. The entire western coastline of Mumbai has those views.

Yeah, true at least we'll still have Marine Drive. But it will still be painful to see that concrete monster out in the sea.

with regard to the view, we could always put it underground. nowhere in the world have i seen a coastline surrounded by bridges, and that too, flat ugly ass bridges which only encourage private transport. we can easily implement brts and best routes along existing flyovers and in medians of the road. space will then become less for cars and people will want to take bus, as they otherwise will be stuck in the slow lane.

OR we keep bus only lanes in peak hour peak direction.

I think that underground metro/sea-link will never happen.

with regard to the view, we could always put it underground. nowhere in the world have i seen a coastline surrounded by bridges, and that too, flat ugly ass bridges which only encourage private transport. we can easily implement brts and best routes along existing flyovers and in medians of the road. space will then become less for cars and people will want to take bus, as they otherwise will be stuck in the slow lane.

OR we keep bus only lanes in peak hour peak direction.

to be fair your not going to find such population density either.

The BRTS system IMO needs to be implemented along the western freeway and on land maybe along Ambedkar road.

You cant just have one route, you need many.


thats the point of this. Invest in all kinds of transports public, private for mumbai cause the number of people are just too many.

Yes the view is sacrificed, but if you dont expand in any direction possible I am afraid the infra of this city will further collapse.


I also believe Tokyo has many bridges spanning its coastline? Maybe somebody can confirm this

Primary delay for bwsl was the fishermens agitation/lawsuits iirc....whsl in principle, should be simpler. But you never know :(

What was actual construction period for BWSL if we ignore the litigation period ?

conserve a view that is enjoyed by a few at night vs ease the commute of hundreds of thousands? No contest IMO. I too think that the right kind of illumination can really lift the aesthetics of a structure. The dedicated bus lane is also a good idea if implemented.

by a few?

thats like saying only people who live right on the copacabana come to the beach in the evenings in rio

commute of hundreds of thousands? the bwsl gets a daily ridership of 20,000 pax. worli sea face itself has more people than that. dadar chowpatty has been washed away because of the sea link. the question really should be is the commute of a few thousand worth more than the quality of life of a few million

by a few?

thats like saying only people who live right on the copacabana come to the beach in the evenings in rio

commute of hundreds of thousands? the bwsl gets a daily ridership of 20,000 pax. worli sea face itself has more people than that. dadar chowpatty has been washed away because of the sea link. the question really should be is the commute of a few thousand worth more than the quality of life of a few million

So how many of the millions living in Bombay visit Scandal Point, Haji Ali or Priyadarshini Park to lament the loss of the view?

Chill man. I expressed my opinion as did you (thats ok I presume, unless you have an exclusive on that right - and if you do, I certainly missed that memo). Bombay or Mumbai and the south particularly is my home too. You disagree with what I said - thats fine. It reflects what I think of your view on this specific issue.

of course you have a right to say what you want. and i have a right to point out what you said is wrong :tongue3:

So how many of the millions living in Bombay visit Scandal Point, Haji Ali or Priyadarshini Park to lament the loss of the view?

Chill man. I expressed my opinion as did you (thats ok I presume, unless you have an exclusive on that right - and if you do, I certainly missed that memo). Bombay or Mumbai and the south particularly is my home too. You disagree with what I said - thats fine. It reflects what I think of your view on this specific issue.

Relax. BoBo is our resident spoilt brat from SoBo. You dont have to take every word of his seriously :)

BoBo man have you seen the 'Upperclass twit of the year' from Monty Python ?

dont believe i have. are you starring?

conserve a view that is enjoyed by a few at night vs ease the commute of hundreds of thousands? No contest IMO. I too think that the right kind of illumination can really lift the aesthetics of a structure. The dedicated bus lane is also a good idea if implemented.
I really don't think this will help the commute of hundreds of thousands. More like a privileged few who drive themselves to work.

of course you have a right to say what you want. and i have a right to point out what you said is wrong :tongue3:

Well said! :lol: - considering I exercised exactly that right in disagreeing with you ;)- fair enuff - so we move on? cheers

Relax. BoBo is our resident spoilt brat from SoBo. You dont have to take every word of his seriously :)


:cheers: shanware - no worries.

@BombayBoy - me too. Well the south bombay bit - not the "spoilt brat" piece:lol: - (will leave the rest of you to judge that). Warden Road and then Colaba - you?