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“The work on the sea link is almost complete; few minor things are yet to be done. We are tentatively looking at June 24 for Sonia Gandhi to inaugurate the sea link,” Vimal Mundada, Minister of Public Works Department (public undertaking) told Newsline. She said the Congress President has agreed on the date (June 24) though a final go-ahead is still awaited from 10, Janpath.
As per S M Gavai, vice-chairman and managing director of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), most work on the sea link is done. The laying of the wearing course was completed on Monday while the electrification work is nearly complete with a few streetlight poles to be erected at the Worli-end. The signages and other touch-up works are being done on a war-footing. “It’s almost ready. The remaining work will take about a week’s time.”
Meanwhile, the MSRDC has still not awarded the contract to collect toll from users as the state government is yet to clear the Worli-Haji Ali sea link bids. As per the financial model designed by the MSRDC, the winning of the next sea link will buy the Bandra-Worli bridge by paying Rs 1,634 crore upfront. It could then construct the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link and collect toll from Bandra-Worli link for not more than 40 or 50 years. The consortium of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Hyundai has emerged as a preferred bidder for the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link. The consortium quoted a viability gap lesser than the other contender, the consortium of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), John Laing and Samsung Construction Company.
The MSRDC is still evaluating the financial bids of the four shortlisted agencies that will collect the toll in the interim. “The decision on the toll collection agency is expected in three-four days,” Gavai said.
SEA-LINK is made by " Public Money " & not by " Corporate Congress ". Big B is a Public Icon and has Right to be there at 1st place and not the " PUPPETS of SONIA ".
Maharashtra government and MSRDC are cheating the people of Mumbai, when they claim that the sealink is almost complete. The completed sealink was supposed to have eight lanes, constructed as two parallel bridges of four lanes each. Only one of these bridges is ready now. i.e., only four of the eight lanes are being made available now. The second bridge have also reached near Worli but nothing has been done to land it on the Worli sea face - not even the pillars to hold the pre-cast segments of the bridges have been erected at Worli end! A quick visual examination suggests that perhaps 20 or more pillars need to be erected! Knowing the speed at which the sea link was constructed so far, one can safely assume that it will be another two years before all the eight lanes land at Worli. Or, has the government quietly changed the promise, and now plans to make the second bridge land directly at Haji Ali?
