Several ongoing and proposed project work have slowed down due to the lockdown. One such project is the proposed Thane creek bridge (TCB)-III, whose cost may escalate by more than five per cent along with a delay in meeting the deadline as decided earlier, said an official requesting anonymity from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which is its nodal agency.
The total project cost is of Rs 775.58 crore. However, the letter of allotment (LOA) issued to the appointed agency L&T is of Rs 559 crore. Thus, on allotted project work, cost escalation is expected, said the official. He further informed, "During the bid, we take into consideration the cost of the previous three months. Due to the lockdown and other project-related permissions that are pending, the work has been delayed. Therefore, under cost variation conditions, the contractor can contend for an increase in cost by 5 to 6 per cent more." Meanwhile, he asserted that MSRDC desires to issue a work order by October, 2020, so the project can be completed as per the expected timeline with just a few months of delay.
Besides this, reportedly, the MSRDC is also waiting for the official possession of 1.4 hectares of land at Erangal in Malad for mangrove plantation. For the proposed creek bridge, 430 mangroves are required to be cut. Though it obtained permissions from the Bombay High Court, but only after the piece of land is handed over to the state mangroves cell, the work can commence in the restricted area. The land mutations file at Mantralaya needs to be cleared.
The new creek bridge will provide six more lanes to the existing TCB-II. It will provide improved connectivity between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai.
