The much-awaited work of Versova Bandra Sea Link finally has begun. Following which the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation(MSRDC) which is the project implementing authority has floated a tender seeking the appointment of an "Authority Engineer" who will be responsible for the progress of ongoing project work that will take shape. Meaning, the agency is expected to offer consultancy services.
An official who did not wish to be named said that at present a private agency named Louis Berger, Is the authority engineer however, its contract is expiring in March. Therefore a fresh tender has been called. The new engineer will be assigned for the 60 months including an additional two-year defect liability period.
According to the MSRDC, the project length has been divided into five parts comprising the total length of VBSL is 17.17km comprising the main bridge of 9.60km (4+4 lanes) for connectors at Bandra, Carter Rd, Juhu Koliwada and Nana Nani Park connector.
The Free Press Journal had recently reported about the change of JV Partner Reliance. The said company sold its share to its partner Astaldi. The MSRDC had given consent for change of JV partners wherein now a new consortium of APCO and WeBuild (Astaldi) will carry out the VBSL project.
In fact, in 2019 MSRDC had appointed contractors for the project but in the last two years, only 2 per cent of work was attained. The official added, "Though mobilisation of machinery has commenced on-site the project will take 5 years time period for completion." Meaning, as fresh or change in a consortium that took place in 2022 counting which in 2026 the VBSL project is expected to be completed.
Rs 7,000 crore VBSL project has been allotted on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). Once the sealink is ready the travel time between Versova and Work will reduce to 15 minutes and would cater to 60,000 vehicles daily, as per the MSRDC.
