BMC says the project cost has escalated from R1,300 crore to R2,100 crore due to changes in alignment; adds extra expense good in the long run
BMC's ambitious Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project to ease traffic on the east-west corridor has witnessed a cost escalation. The civic body has increased the estimated cost of the project from Rs 1,300 crore to Rs 2,100 crore.
The tunnel will be 5 km long instead of 7 km, which was cited earlier. The 16-km GMLR begins on from Film City in Goregaon and end near Khindipada in Mulund. It will have three lanes on both sides. A senior BMC official said, "Considering the new length of the stretch, the cost of the project may go up to Rs 2,100 crore. Work on the tunnel segment is likely to begin in 2018."
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An official confirmed that BMC has successfully completed the geo technical survey inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for the proposed construction of a tunnel for the link road.
The survey, which took nearly four months, concluded recently. "A tunnel-boring machine (TBM) will be used in the project that will charge around Rs 4 lakh per square metre, according to the current rates," the official said.
Speaking to mid-day, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, who is in charge of the project, said, “The previous estimate for the project had not included the tunnel. The project now has an entirely new alignment. We are in the process of preparing a detailed project report to submit to the Ministry of Environment and Forest for approval. After it's cleared, we will begin work on the tunnel."
Mukherjee assured that though the cost of the project has increased, in the long run, GMLR will help save time, fuel and money of thousands of city commuters.
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