BJP to reward Maharashtra with Rs 37,000 crore infrastructure push

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) win in Maharashtra is likely to stoke a fresh lease of life in infrastructure projects worth Rs 37,118 crore across sectors such as highways, ports and shipping and Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

These projects are being monitored from the cabinet secretariat level with the state government, and, now, with the BJP set to assume power in the state, they are likely to get expedited.

"The government is actively considering projects worth Rs 11 lakh crore in all, which will be facilitated soon. By March next year, each ministry will have their own Apps to help track all project applications and processes online," said Anil Swarup, additional secretary, cabinet secretariat.

In Maharashtra, major infrastructure projects are likely to get a push. Indiabulls SEZ is a multi-product SEZ worth Rs 14,650 crore that is being reviewed. The SEZ is spread across 1,011.26 hectares at Sinnar, Nashik.

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has leased out the land for 95 years. The SEZ will have manufacturing industries across sectors such as auto and auto ancillary,pharmaceuticals (formulations), light engineering and electronics, electrical and aviation and ancillary.

Two road and highways projects worth about Rs 12,000 crore are being reviewed by the central government. One of them is the Rs 9,630 crore Mumbai trans harbour link, and, the other, the Rs 2,538-crore L&T East West Tollway project.

The trans-harbour link project envisages the construction of a 22-km sea link, a six- lane road bridge from Sewri on the Mumbai side to Chirle on NH4B in Nhava on the mainland.

It also includes the construction of interchanges at Sewri on the Mumbai side and at Shivaji Nagar and at Chirle on mainland side. L&T East West Tollway is carrying out the four-laning of Amravati- Jalgaon section of the NH 6.

Three port projects, worth Rs 10,300 crore, are also being expedited. The Rs 1,800 crore Alewadi Port, a greenfield container port, is one. The project is expected to create 3,000 jobs during the construction phase and around 1,000 jobs during the operation phase.

The Rs 6,000 crore Rewas Port, being proposed by the Maharashtra Maritime Board, a state government undertaking, has proposed a mega port within the Mumbai harbour region – is the other. The Rs 2,500 crore Vijaydurg Port is the third project

MMRDA plans to link Sewri elevated road to Bandra-Worli Sea Link

To ensure speedy approval from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for a Rs 490-crore Worli-Sewri elevated road and avoid public resistance, the city’s development authority is modifying the corridor’s alignment to connect it to the Bandra-Worli sea link instead of terminating it near the Worli sea face promenade.

This will ensure a signal-free ride from Sewri right to the western suburb of Bandra. The connectivity will be strengthened further once the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority links the Worli-Sewri road to the existing Eastern Freeway and the proposed Sewri-Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link.

The MCZMA had held back an approval for the 4.25 Worli-Sewri connector stating that the MMRDA should first conduct a public hearing to gauge the suggestions and objections of residents around the Worli sea face promenade to the project. The authority had said that a Worli-Sewri connector terminating on the sea face would further add to traffic, air and noise pollution that the residents are currently having to face, with the road being an access point for the Bandra-Worli sea link.

The Worli-Sewri road requires the MCZMA’s approval as a portion of the corridor near Sewri falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone.

The plan for a Pedder Road flyover has been stalled for more than a decade due to opposition from residents.

UPS Madan, metropolitan commissioner at the MMRDA, said, “I have instructed MMRDA officials to work out a flyover from the current terminating point to the Bandra-Worli sea link to connect the two roads so that there is no exodus of vehicles on the Worli sea face.”

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link update: Japanese team to visit Mumbai for talks

A team from the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) will visit Mumbai later this month for rounds of discussion to fund the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) project valued at Rs11,000 crore. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) may bear part of the project cost.

Speaking about the status of MTHL, a sea bridge that will connect Sewri on the eastern fringes of Mumbai and Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai, UPS Madan, commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), said, "A team of JICA officials will be coming to Mumbai later this month to discuss the MTHL project."

He added that the discussions will continue for the next few months as there will be several technical and financial issues that will be discussed apart from the Japanese team reviewing the project design and feasibility.

The loan agreement to fund MTHL project up to 70-80% will, however, be signed only by early 2015.

Last week, the Union minister of economic affairs had held a meeting to pave way for JICA to give loan for the 22-km-long sea link.

Additionally, in what can be good news as well as an impetus for the project to move ahead from the drawing boards is that JNPT has shown some signs of willingness to partly fund the project.

Madan confirmed that there has been an indication from JNPT to participate financially, however, it is too early to say how much will come from the coffers of the port trust based in Navi Mumbai.

Last August, MMRDA had not received a single bid for the project on the basis of the public-private partnership model. There were five consortiums in the fray for the project then, one of them had withdrawn their proposal. Therefore, it was later decided to erect the bridge on Engineering, Procurement and Construction route after getting the project loan amount from JICA.

MMRDA, Cidco to jointly develop MTHL, multi-modal corridor

Cidco is ready to part-finance the MTHL which is awaiting approval from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for funding

To speed up the much delayed Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) and the multi-modal corridor projects, state developmental agencies MMRDA and Cidco have decided to join hands and jointly develop them, a senior official has said.

Currently, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is the nodal agency for implementing the Rs 12,975-crore 126-km Virar-Alibaug Multi-Modal Corridor and the Rs 9,630-crore 22-km MTHL projects.

"We have decided to work together to push these much delayed projects," City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) vice-chairman and managing director Sanjay Bhatia told PTI.

He said Cidco is ready to part-finance the MTHL which is awaiting approval from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for funding.

"We have offered to part finance the project as it may be delayed due to approvals from the JICA, which has shown interest in funding. We can contribute on the equity front by reducing the dependence on debt," he said.

It has been decided that MMRDA will borrow JICA loan to the extent of 70 per cent of the project cost while the remaining 30 per cent would be funded through state and central assistance as equity.

"Through our contribution, we plan to reduce the dependence on loan to the extent of 50 per cent, which can be borrowed domestically and not wait for JICA loan which may take a year for approval thus delaying it," he said.

He said the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust may also be a part of the project.

Bhatia further said as the multi-modal corridor is planned to improve connectivity till the proposed Navi Mumbai airport, which Cidco is implementing, they will provide all the necessary assistance to develop it.

"As it will improve connectivity from Mumbai to the airport, we have asked MMRDA to focus on it and Cidco is ready to support it," he added.

MTHL (Mumbai Trans Harbour Link) gets moving again, all hopes on Japanese loan

The stalled Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project is beginning to gain momentum once again, with the city’s development authority expecting the Japan International Cooperation Agency to formally sanction a loan for the Rs 9,630-crore project during its project appraisal cycle in September.

Ashwini Bhide, additional metropolitan commissioner at Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), said the state government had sent a formal proposal to the Union Finance Ministry’s department of economic affairs for its approval to get funds from JICA.

“JICA loan sanctions are done two times a year, either in April or September. We are targeting this September for the loan to be formally sanctioned,” Bhide said.

“We are expecting a loan of between 60 and 80 percent of the project cost from JICA. If the loan is on the higher side, the tolling period and the toll can be lesser,” she said.

Bhide added that as per procedure, there should be a nominating ministry in order to apply for the loan. The documentation to appoint the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as the nominating ministry was under way, she said.

However, even if JICA sanctions the loan in September, work on the project, which has been on the drawing board for more than three decades now, may not start until at least a year, Bhide said.
As per the original plan, construction of the 22-km Worli-Sewri link was to start late last year or early this year on public-private partnership (PPP) model. There were six international consortia that had responded to the MMRDA’s request for qualification and five were shortlisted for bidding. However, not a single company responded to the development authority’s request for proposals despite several deadline extensions in what was the third failed round of tendering out the project.

In August last year, the MMRDA decided to scrap the PPP model for the project and execute it instead on a cash-contract basis. Subsequently, JICA expressed interest in providing funds for the project.

The Japanese agency has sanctioned a loan for one other Mumbai project – the fully-underground Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro. JICA is providing a loan at an interest rate of 1.4 percent to fund 57.2 percent of the total project cost of Rs 23,136 crore