Mumbai Trans Harbour Link
The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, officially named as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri–Nhava Sheva Atal Setu and colloquially known as Atal Setu, is a 18.2 km, 6-lane grade separated expressway bridge, which connects Mumbai with Navi Mumbai, its satellite city. It is the longest sea bridge in India, and the world's 12th longest sea bridge. The bridge begins in Sewri, South Mumbai, crosses Thane Creek north of Elephanta Island, and terminates at Chirle near Nhava Sheva in Uran taluka, Navi Mumbai. The road is linked to NH348 in the east and to the Eastern Freeway in the west.
The 6-lane highway is 27 meters in width, in addition to two emergency exit lanes, two edge strips, parallel crash barriers and noise barriers on both sides. The project costs a total of. The bridge has a capacity to handle 70,000 vehicles per day. Construction on the bridge began in April 2018, and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 January 2024.
Overview
In the 1990s, keeping the future of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in mind, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority began studies on how to decongest the rising traffic and congestion in Mumbai, and accidents and mishaps as their direct consequences. There are currently six bridges connecting Mumbai and Navi Mumbai across the Thane Creek, but they are too narrow and outdated to handle future traffic. As a result, all of them are constrained and are carrying traffic beyond their limits, also increasing the commute time between the two cities. So, the MMRDA planned to build a comprehensive link between the two cities so as to handle more traffic and make travel more easier, faster, safer, and hassle-free. The proposal was sent to the Government of Maharashtra for consideration in 2012. In 2015, the project was approved by the Government of India and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Hence, the foundation stone for the construction of the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 December 2016. Initially, it was expected to be completed by 2021. Then, the MMRDA awarded contracts for the project in November 2017, and construction began in April 2018, which was scheduled to be completed within 4.5 years, by 2022. However, the construction was delayed by around 8 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was expected to be completed by August 2023, then again by December 2023. The construction was finally completed in December 2023, and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 January 2024.Planning
Transportation and traffic planning for Greater Bombay was commissioned to Wilbur Smith and Associates in mid-1962. The firm's report, based on extensive studies conducted over 18 months, was handed over to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on 19 December 1963. Among other projects, the report proposed the construction of a sea link, known as the Uran Bridge, to connect Mumbai with the mainland near the town of Uran. However, WSA was unsure of the link's feasibility. Citing poor traffic expectations in Uran even in 1981, WSA's report advised a more detailed study of this connection and recommended to delay the link until development and community services are expanded in the Trans-Thane region. In 1973, the Vashi Bridge linking Mankhurd in Mumbai with Vashi in Navi Mumbai was opened.First attempt
The first concrete attempt to build the sea link was made in 2004, when Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services submitted a proposal to implement the project on a build, own, operate, and transfer basis. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation also submitted a counter-proposal. However, the IL&FS proposal was sidelined by the Government of Maharashtra for undisclosed reasons.Second attempt
Another attempt was made in 2005, when the MSRDC invited bids for the project. The bids submitted by the Ambani brothers were considered to be unrealistic. A consortium of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Reliance Energy, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction quoted a concession period of nine years and 11 months, against 75 years quoted by Mukesh Ambani's Sea King Infrastructure. The REL-Hyundai consortium was initially disqualified at the technical bid stage, as Hyundai did not meet the criteria of $200 million net worth specified in the bid document. However, the consortium challenged the disqualification in the Supreme Court, and the Court granted them 90 days to submit their bid that ended on 15 December 2007, The consortium eventually won the bid in February 2008. However, the MSRDC was not sure about viability of the low concession period. The MSRDC felt that the concession periods were "unrealistic" and that both bids "seemed frivolous in nature".Third attempt
The Government of Maharashtra called for fresh bids for the project in 2008. However, none of the 13 companies that had shown interest submitted bids. The media criticized the political feud between the ruling Nationalist Congress Party and the Indian National Congress coalition, as being responsible for "slowing down the pace of Mumbai's development". The city's two infrastructure agencies, the MSRDC and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, under the NCP and Congress respectively, were both planning to construct the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link at the same time. The project underwent two failed rounds of tendering under the MSRDC, and was stuck for nearly two years, before the state government decided to hand over the mandate to MMRDA. Following the decision, the MSRDC asked MMRDA to pay if it wanted access to any of the studies on the project conducted by the former. After the MMRDA was tasked with executing the MTHL, the MSRDC took up the expansion of the Vashi Bridge by adding six more lanes to ease congestion at the entrance to Navi Mumbai. However, the MMRDA refused the MSRDC's request to allocate funds for the expansion of the Vashi Bridge, as the former believed that the expansion would divert some ridership from the MTHL.Fourth attempt
The MMRDA appointed Arup Consultancy Engineers and KPMG to conduct the techno-economic feasibility study of the MTHL in August 2011. The MTHL project was proposed as a public–private partnership model. The project received clearance from the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, on 22 October 2012. The Times of India described the MTHL's delay as being "symbolic of all that is wrong with infrastructure planning and implementation in Mumbai." The newspaper daily also stated that a project being "on the drawing board after more than forty years would be in the realm of fiction in any other country".The project received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 23 October 2012. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation had obtained clearance for the project in March 2005, but the certificate was valid only for 5 years and lapsed due to the delays in the bidding process. The ministry laid down 11 conditions that the MMRDA had to follow. Some of the conditions were that the MMRDA had to put up noise barriers, replant five times the number of mangroves destroyed, not carry out dredging or reclamation, use construction equipment with exhaust silencers, and work in consultation with the Bombay Natural History Society to minimize the impact on migratory birds. Environmental activists were opposed to the clearance. They pointed out that there was no public hearing following the second application for environmental clearance. They still believe that the sea link is not allowed as per the new Coastal Regulation Zone notification of 2011. They also claim that the sea link would damage a huge mudflat and mangrove tract towards Sewri and Nhava Sheva, which is a habitat for migratory birds like flamingos. Nevertheless, the MMRDA finalised the plan to construct sound barriers on the bridge so that it does not affect the flamingo habitat at Sewri. The Department of Atomic Energy had directed MMRDA to construct a six-km long view barrier to cut the view of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. The MTHL received coastal regulation zone clearance from the MoEFCC on 19 July 2013.
On 31 October 2012, the Department of Economic Affairs granted in-principle approval for the MTHL. The DEA recommended granting with a concession period of 35 years for the project. In the first meeting, between MMRDA and DEA officials in September 2012, the ministry had asked the authority to treat the sea link as a road and reduce the proposed concession period from 45 years to 30 years. They also expected an internal rate of return of 15% for the project. However, the MMRDA wanted a higher rate as they claimed the project was very risky. An internal rate of return of 17% was agreed upon. The termination clause in the concession agreement comes into effect after 30 years into the concession period. The MMRDA can invoke the clause based on certain conditions, such as the capacity being higher than expected. The conditions will be reviewed in the 20th year of the concession agreement. The DEA is the first tier of the three-tier clearance process to get viability gap funding for the project. The project must also receive approval from an empowered committee and finally from the Finance Minister. On 9 November 2012, the State Government issued a state-support agreement and a toll notification for the project. The empowered committee approved VGF for MTHL on 12 December 2012. The then Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, cleared the project on 18 January 2013.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust asked the MMRDA to build the MTHL at a height of 51 metres, instead of the proposed 25 metres, for a span of 300 metres to accommodate its expansion plans for its fifth container terminal and to allow safe passage of bigger vessels. MMRDA expressed that a height of 51 metres would not be feasible as it would have a huge impact on the cost. However, MMRDA officials expressed willingness to raise the height of the bridge to 31–35 metres. On 8 January 2012, the then Minister of Shipping and MP from South Mumbai, Milind Murli Deora, told reporters that JNPT would issue a No Objection Certificate to the state government to go ahead with the project.
In May 2012, the MMRDA shortlisted five consortia for the project: Cintra-SOMA-Srei, Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd.-OHL, Concessions-G.S. Engineering, GMR Infrastructure-L&T Ltd.-Samsung C&T Corporation, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd.-Hyundai, and Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd.-Autostrade Indian Infrastructure Development Pvt. Ltd.-Vinci Concessions Development Pvt. Ltd. None of the five shortlisted firms bid for the project by the deadline, which was extended to 5 August. IRB-Hyundai announced their withdrawal from the bidding process, on 31 July 2013, citing "the government's apathy and unfriendly attitude towards investors wanting to develop capital-intensive infrastructure projects". Following the failure of the tender, the MMRDA decided to abandon the PPP model and instead implement the project on cash contract basis.
In January 2013, the Government of India had sanctioned, which was 20% of the project cost at the time, in viability gap for the MTHL. Under the public private partnership basis that the project was proposed to be implemented in, the state government would also contribute the same amount as the centre, while the remaining 60% would have been borne by the developer who won the bid. The concession period would have been 35 years, which included the timeframe of 5 years for the construction. However, the consortia shortlisted for the project were concerned that 15–20% of the projected traffic for the MTHL, was due to the proposed and now under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport, which was heavily delayed. The MMRDA added provision for a shortfall loan to be made available from the central government if traffic is 20% under the estimate.