Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial crunch, the Maharashtra government has put the completion of a slew of transport infrastructure projects in Mumbai and rest of the state on fast track.
According to the Economic Survey, work on the Mumbai Coastal Road project, which commenced in October, 2018, is proposed to be completed by July, 2023, at an estimated cost of Rs 12,721 crore. The expenditure incurred up to November, 2020, was Rs 1,439.70 crore. About 20 per cent of the work was completed at the end of November, 2020.
Besides this, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has undertaken a slew of projects, including the Metro rail, Mumbai Trans Harbour Link and Virar to Alibaug multimodal corridor, amongst others. The construction work of these projects is at various stages.
Further, the 701 km Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Marg, which is being developed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), will pass through 10 districts, 26 tehsils and 392 villages and, thereby, it will connect 24 districts. The first phase of 520 kms of the total 701 km expressway will be operational by May 1, 2021. This phase is between the orange city Nagpur and Shirdi. The second phase of 103 kms between Shirdi and Igatpuri will be opened for traffic in December, 2021. The remaining 78 kms between Igatpuri and Wadpe near Mumbai will be commissioned on May 1, 2022.
