MUMBAI: To avoid complexities such as heavy damage to coastal environment and human habitation during or after its construction, MSRDC, the state infrastructure arm, will extend the upcoming Bandra-Versova

up to Virar, via Charkop and Vasai, from a kilometre into the sea, instead of building it along the coast. The link’s “pure construction” cost is pegged at Rs 21,000 crore. The eight-lane 57.8km link aims to reduce travel time by oneand-a-half hours, during peak hours.

MSRDC, said its MD Radhyesham Mopalwar, rejected options by consultants of building the link as a coastal road abutting the sea, or as a road on stilts above mangroves jutting the coast. Avoiding coastal road and stilt road options will help it minimize damage to marine ecosystem, such as mangroves, creeks and coastal habitations, including fishermen’s villages and hamlets, as land acquisition will be minimal. The link will have interchanges at Charkop, Uttan, Vasai and Virar, which make the link’s distance for construction purposes to 84km.

The 84km Versova-Virar link will take 60,000 vehicles in 2026 when it is expected to be ready. But one-way toll for a car to travel from Versova to Virar will be around Rs1,000 in 2026. The decision to go for a sea link came based on options given by Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) in its pre-feasibility report, ordered by the government via MSRDC in 2019.

There was an option to build the Vasai-Virar (around 11km plus Virar interchange) stretch of the link later, to cut “pure construction” cost by Rs6,000 crore. If loans and land acquisition are considered, the Rs21,000 construction cost for Versova-Virar goes up to Rs32,000 crore. If the Vasai-Virar portion is postponed, the cost for Versova-Vasai will come down to Rs 22,000 crore.

MSRDC has asked for a detailed project report with a final financial and technical feasibility study before floating tenders. “The detailed report and tendering will take two to three years, before putting developers in place for construction. But, to come up with the detailed report, the permission of state government headed by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will be necessary, which we are seeking now,” officials said, pointing out that the prefeasibility study had set the ball rolling for the project.