Work on Marine Lines-To-Sea Link Stretch to be Split Into 3 Parts

As many as 13 companies, including L&T and Reliance Infrastructure and firms from China, Japan, Korea, Dubai and Turkey, have shown interest in constructing the first phase of the coastal road, from Marine Lines to the Worli end of the sea link.

Most of these companies have entered into joint ventures with one or more partners to bid for the project, forming a total of eight groups. The BMC is currently scrutinizing their documents. After completing the process, it will ask the companies to submit their request for proposal (RFP), based on which the final bidders will be selected for the first phase of the 15,000 crore project that is to kick off in October. The BMC said it has divided work on the first phase--a 10km stretch from Marine Lines to the Worli end of the sea link--into three zones and invited RFQ for each separately.

The BMC intends to award contracts for the three zones to different bidders so that work on each can start simultaneously and the first phase can be completed within the four-year deadline.

Seven international companies have entered into joint ventures with Indian companies, including Reliance Infrastructure, to bid for the project. L&T will bid on its own. In October, the project will take off at Nepean Sea Road off Priyadarshini Park and at Haji Ali. Officials said the companies would be selected on the basis of advanced and tested technology along with past experience in carrying out similar projects.

BMC officials said the RFQ scrutiny will be completed in two months, to initiate the final stage of the tendering process. They said all the permissions are in place and they aim to start construction work in October.

Construction of the first phase--the southern portion of the coastal road--will involve 90 hectares of reclamation, for which 4.2 million cubic metres of rock will be required. BMC officials said they expect to get 0.65 miliion cubic metres of rock from the tunnel that will be constructed off the Princess Street flyover at Marine Drive till Priyadarshani Park.