Nod awaited; work likely to begin in December

Anil Diggikar, vice-chairman and managing director of MSRDC, said, “In case of the transport system, the chief minister is keen that the work should start soon. We expect the cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure to clear it soon after the elections, and construction should begin in December.”

Diggikar added that the MSRDC will take longer to start construction of a similar system on the west coast. “The chief minister had made minor suggestions that we have incorporated in the project. However, we still need to address a few issues before we can start construction,” the official said.

Creating a passenger water transportation system, which will greatly cut travel time with a transport network along the coast, has been in the pipeline for a decade.

The east coast network will span from Ferry Wharf in south Mumbai to Mandwa via Nerul, while the one on the western coast will stretch from Borivali to Nariman Point with stops at Marve, Versova, Bandra and Juhu.

In August 2012, the MSRDC had finalised bids for the construction of terminal facilities on the west and east coasts, and sent the proposal to the state government for ratification. Since then, the projects have been awaiting the approval of the Chief Minister-led cabinet sub-committee of infrastructure.

While the projects have been informally discussed between the chief minister and MSRDC officials, they are yet to come up on the agenda of the cabinet sub-committee.

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