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Maharashtra Economic Survey 2023 Sheds Spotlight On State’s Infrastructure. Here Are Key Takeaways

By
Amit Mishra
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Maharashtra now has the physical and digital infrastructure essential for achieving balanced, inclusive and sustained economic growth according to the State’s annual Economic Survey.

The Economic Survey 2022-23 was tabled by Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the State Assembly on 8 March.

The State is well connected through railways, roadways, airways and waterways and is one of the highly urbanised states in India.

Extending infrastructural facilities is only part of the story; modernisation is the other important principle that is being attempted with verve and achieved with commendable speed.

Road Network

At the end of March 2022, the state had a total road length of about 3.24 lakh km, including 18,366 km of national highway network, noted the survey.

A total of 30 programme worth Rs 25,228 crore are under implementation as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana to bridge critical infrastructure gaps in the State. This includes Sant Tukaram Palkhi Marg, Sant Dnyaneshwar Palkhi Marg and Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway.

The Survey mentions a list of ongoing projects undertaken by the state government for development of road infrastructure mainly through private participation.

This includes Versova- Bandra Sea link project, Versova – Virar Sea link project, Pune ring road, Thane creek bridge, Mumbai – Pune Expressway augmentation, Konkan Greenfield Expressway and Jalna – Nanded Expressway.

While most of these projects will be complete by 2025-26, the Rs 6,700 crore augmentation of Mumbai-Pune expressway is expected to be over by next year.

Similarly, the entire length of Samruddhi Mahamarg is expected to be operational by 2024.

Officially known as Hindu Hruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, the 701-km-long expressway connects Mumbai and Nagpur.

Upto January 2023, about 90 per cent of work is completed on eight-lane expressway. The survey noted that the 520 km long Nagpur-Shirdi stretch of Samruddhi Mahamarg has been completed and opened to traffic from December 2022.

Projects In Mumbai Metropolitan region

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) comprises of entire area of Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban and parts of Thane, Raigad and Palghar districts.

According to the survey, a number of new projects will be commissioned in the MMR region this year.

This includes first phase of Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) from Kurla to Vakola, Mumbai Trans-Harbour link (MTHL) and flyover at Kalanagar Junction and Bandra East.

The survey notes that work on Rs 17,843 crore MTHL project which involves construction of bridge across the sea from Sewri to Nhava (22 km) is in full progress.

Similarly, 70 per cent of work on the Rs 12,721 crore Mumbai Coastal Road Project (South) is complete as of January 2023, as mentioned in the survey.

The project involves connecting Princess Street flyover in Navi Mumbai to Worli end of Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) through a series of roads and undersea tunnels.

Railways

According to the Economic Survey, the state has a railway route length of 6,242.14 km, which is 9.2 per cent of the total railway route length (68,042.81 km) of India.

The Survey mentions some of the on-going railway works in the state. This includes doubling of Pune-Miraj-Lodha line (80 per cent complete), new line between Wardha-Nanded via Yavatmal-Pusad and third line between Itarsi-Nagpur (24 per cent complete).

Indian Railways is also working on the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for 368 km Indore-Malegaon-Manmad line and 265 km Pune-Nashik line.

Mumbai Suburban Railway

The ubiquitous Mumbai suburban railway system utilised a fleet of 229 local trains including 6 AC local trains to carry on an average 34.5 lakh passengers during 2021-22.

For a linear city like Mumbai, the suburban train services play a vital role in facilitating the north-south movement of the city’s workforce.

The two suburban systems operated by both the Western Railways (WR) and the Central Railways (CR) facilitate inter-district travel in five districts namely Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Palghar and Raigad

A worrisome trend noted in the Survey is the increase in number of accidental deaths and persons injured on Mumbai suburban railway. 2,078 people have died until October 2022, an increase of 19 per cent from 1,752 deaths reported in 2021 and 1,689 injured in 2022, up from 1,106 in 2021.

Trespassing of suburban railway tracks and falling down from train together accounted for more than 73 per cent of total accidental deaths reported during the year 2022.

Metro Rail

According to the Survey, Metro rail projects are currently operational in three cities — Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.

The Mumbai Metro Rail serving the Mumbai metropolitan region has three operational lines — 1, 2A and 7. The two new lines 2A (Dahisar to Andheri West DN Nagar) and 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri East) was inaugurated on 20 January this year and has been a runaway success.

The Economic Survey notes that nine metro lines are currently under construction in Mumbai — line 2B (D.N. Nagar-Mandal), line 3 (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ), line 4 (Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarwadavli), line 4A (Kasarwadavli-Gaimukh), line 5 (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan), line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli), line 9 (Dahisar (E)-Mira Bhayandar to Andheri), line 10 (Gaimukh to Shivaji Chowk), line11 (Wadala to CSMT) and line 12 (Kalyan to Taloja).

The State Government is also implementing 11.10 km Navi Mumbai metro rail project through CIDCO. The elevated line from CBD Belapur to Pendhar with 11 stations is expected to start soon.

In Nagpur, two metro corridors with a length of 40.02 km and 38 stations have been commissioned.

The two routes — Khapri to Automotive Square (North-South corridor) and Lokmanya Nagar to Prajapati Nagar (East-West corridor) — together had an average ridership of one lakh passengers per day during 2022-23.

Airports

The Survey stated there are 13 airports functioning in the State, including five international airports at Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik.

During 2021-22, the passenger traffic from domestic and international airports in the State was 245.65 lakh and 32.12 lakh respectively, whereas the corresponding figures for 2020-21 were 133.96 lakh and 12.23 lakh respectively.

The top three airports in term of passenger traffic in the year 2022 are Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, noted the survey.

Similarly, during 2021-22, domestic and international cargo handled by airports in the State was 2.51 lakh MT and 5.57 lakh MT respectively. The corresponding figures for 2020-21 were 1.87 lakh MT and 4.41 lakh MT respectively.

To reduce air-traffic congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, an additional international airport is being built at Navi Mumbai through Public Private Partnership in four phases.

It is one of the largest greenfield airports planned to handle minimum six crore passengers and 15 lakh MT cargo per annum.

Ports

The state has two major ports — Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPA) and 48 non-major ports.

During 2021-22, total cargo traffic handled by major and non-major ports in the State was 1,883.59 lakh MT as against 1,579.11 lakh MT during the previous year.

Similarly, Roll on-Roll off (ro-ro) services have been started at New Bhaucha Dhakka (Mumbai)-Mandwa (Raigad) and Agardanda-Dighi in Raigad district, noted the survey.

Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels that are used to carry wheeled cargo such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers and railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their wheels or using a platform vehicle.

Work is in progress to start ro-ro services between Karanja-Rewas in Raigad district, Bhayander (Thane)-Vasai (Palghar), Naringi – Kharvadeshri in Palghar district, Marve-Manori in Mumbai suburban, Bhaucha Dhakka (Mumbai) – Kashid (Raigad), Gorai- Borivali in Mumbai suburban and Bhaucha Dhakka (Mumbai)-Mora (Raigad).

The much-awaited water transport service from Belapur in Navi Mumbai to Elephanta (Raigad) has also started, said the Survey.

Electricity

As on 31 March 2022, the State has highest share in installed capacity (10.9 per cent) of electricity generation at All-India level.

The survey noted that per capita ultimate consumption of electricity for the State is 1,110.2 units as against 824.6 units for All-India.

During 2022-23 upto October, average peak demand for electricity was 22,339 MW and supply of electricity was 22,441 MW. Compared to this, the average peak demand for electricity was 21,221 MW and supply was 21,750 MW last fiscal.

The state is also a leader in renewable energy and ranks fifth in India after Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in terms of installed capacity of renewable energy. As on 31 December 2022, the installed capacity was 11,400 MW.

Well developed infrastructure, abundant natural resources, connectivity to all major areas, skilled manpower and quality education make Maharashtra an ideal destination for setting up of new industries, stated the survey.

BRTS Link On Cards To Connect Noida International Airport With NCR Cities

By
Amit Mishra
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The sprawl of the National Capital Region (NCR) may have high-speed road connectivity with the upcoming Noida International Airport (NIA) at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, as reported in TOI.

The Noida international Airport Ltd (NIAL) has started working on a project to connect the upcoming airport with the national capital and NCR cities of Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon through a bus rapid transit system (BRTS).

The plan involves hiring a consultant to identify the routes and prepare a feasibility plan after studying such systems functional in national and international cities.

“As a part of the detailed project report, the consultant’s job would be to plan BRTS corridors and allied infrastructure, fleet size and bus technology. They will also give reports on the costing and economic viability of the project, besides the source of funding, business model and financial viability,” said an NIAL official.

The DPR is most likely to be ready by September this year. A request for proposal has been floated to hire the consultant. The last date to file applications is 17 April.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a high-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective services at metro-level capacities.

It does this through the provision of dedicated lanes, with busways and iconic stations typically aligned to the center of the road, off-board fare collection, and fast and frequent operations.

Multiple Options

The government is exploring a number of transportation systems like metro, rapid rail and pod taxis to provide smooth connectivity with nearby cities and IGI airport.

As part of the state government’s plan to provide last-mile metro connectivity till the NIA, a Metro Rail will connect Noida International Airport and Delhi’s IGI Airport Via New Delhi Station. Currently, the Airport Express Line or the “Orange” Line, connects New Delhi Railway Station to the IGI Airport.

In November last year, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) signed an agreement with the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEOIDA) for preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for construction of the said metro rail link.

Along with metro connectivity, NIA will also have connectivity to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway with a spur route. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is developing a 30 km Airport link to connect the airport with the 1350 km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

Also, a ground transportation centre (GTC) which combines all modes of transport under one roof has been proposed near the Jewar airport. Modelled on the lines of Zurich airport, it will house public transport facilities like metro, taxis and bus services, besides private parking.

NIA To Be Ready By 2024

NIA is the upcoming greenfield airport at Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh. It will enhance domestic as well as international connectivity to and from Delhi-NCR, Noida and Western Uttar Pradesh.

The airport, billed to be India’s largest upon completion, will be developed in four phases, with two interconnected terminals and an annual passenger capacity of 70 million.

The first phase spread over 1,334 hectare will have one runway, cargo hub along with a terminal that will cater to domestic and international passengers. As per the concession agreement, the first phase for 12 million passengers per annum is to be completed and made operational by September 2024.

Chhattisgarh Budget 2023 Highlights: Metro Services Between Raipur And Durg, Commercial Airport At Korba

By
Amit Mishra
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The Chhattisgarh government has made a big push for the metro and air connectivity in the state budget presented on 7 March.

Presenting the Chhattisgarh Budget 2023, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday announced that Metro Lite services will be introduced for daily commute from Nava Raipur Atal Nagar to Durg.

Metro Lite is a prime mode of mass transit in smaller cities. This system which can be constructed at a cost of about 40 per cent of high-capacity metro system is more viable and sustainable due to less capital, operation and maintenance costs.

Durg is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur and is around 40 km from the state capital.

The Chief Minister has also announced Rs 28.26 crore for the new Chhattisgarh Bhawan at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi.

The budget has also provisions for the development of a new airstrip at Baikunthpur and commercial airport at Korba.

A provision has been made for setting up of Aerocity near Raipur Airport for the purpose of promoting professional and commercial activities.

Decks Cleared For Expansion Of Darbhanga Airport In North Bihar, State Govt Transfers 76 Acre Land To AAI

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received the remaining 52.65 acres of land from the state government to expand Darbhanga airport.

The AAI had requested a total of 76 acres for development, and last November, the state government had transferred 23.75 acres land for the installation of a Category 1 instrument landing system (ILS).

This was done to support aircraft movement during night hours and handle difficult weather conditions in winter.

Darbhanga airport, which belongs to the Indian Air Force (IAF), got on the country’s air map with a SpiceJet flight from Bengaluru landing on 8 November 2020.

The state government has spent over Rs 342.4 crore on land acquisition for the development of Darbhanga airport.

Expansion Plan

With the transfer of 52.62-acre of land, the aircraft is set to get a major facelift.

This includes development of a new civil enclave spread over 52-acre of land, which will include a new terminal building, cargo complex, multilevel car parking, fire station and other allied structures.

The AAI is currently in the process of selecting the consultancy firm to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for development of the airport and the total estimation of the project.

The bidding process will start once the DPR is approved. As per the initial plans, the two-storey terminal building will have the departure lounge on the first floor and arrival area on the ground floor. Besides, other supporting structures will be made as per the requirement.

Runaway Success

Darbhanga is not new to aviation and got on the country’s air map as early as 1950 when Maharaja Kameshwar Singh Bahadur started ‘Darbhanga Aviation’ with a fleet of four Douglas DC-3 aircraft.

After the 1962 Indo-China war, the IAF also took over the Darbhanga airport and has made it a major air base for fighter aircraft.

It was in 2014 when soon after coming to power, the NDA government at the Centre promised to revive civilian flights from Darbhanga.

The airline which became operational under regional connectivity scheme (RCS), popularly known as ‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN)’ has emerged very successful.

Currently low-cost carrier Spice Jet operates from Darbhanga on three routes — Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru and IndiGo operates flight service from Darbhanga to Kolkata and Hyderabad.

According to data provided by AAI, a total of 1,865 passengers travelled to and from Darbhanga airport in 12 flights on 6 March.

The success of north Bihar’s first airport can be gauged from the fact that Darbhanga airport earned a profit of Rs 2.10 crore in fiscal 2021-22 while the state’s other two airports, in Gaya and Patna, ran into losses during the same period.

Teething Problems

The existing makeshift terminal is not capable to handle massive footfall of passenger and as such the AAI in March 2021 requested state government to provide 54 acres for civil enclave and 24 acres for CAT-1 approach light.

Meanwhile, work is also going on for the extension of the existing terminal building, which has the capacity to accommodate only 150 passengers at peak hours.

The Ministry of defence has already handed over 2.42 acres of land to the AAI for the expansion of the interim building spread over 700 square metre.

The expansion work of existing terminal building is expected to be completed by 31 August and will double the present peak-hour passenger capacity at the airport.

Mumbai: Pillar Design Change Likely To Delay Opening Of Coastal Road Project By Seven Months

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The deadline for opening up the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) may be pushed by seven months to June 2024, as reported by Hindustan Times.

The delay comes in the backdrop of design change of pillars to accommodate the demand of protesting fisherfolk from Worli Koliwada.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is executing the project has time and again claimed that the Coastal Road would be ready by November 2023.

The Project

The 10.58 km long coastal road will connect Nariman Point in South Mumbai with the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) at Worli through a series of roads and underground tunnels.

The coastal road is being built on reclaimed land with an aim to decongest traffic and will be constructed in two parts.

Mumbai Coastal Road Project Alignment (BMC)

The Southern Part is from Princess Street flyover to the South End of Bandra Worli Sea Link and is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 12,500 crores. A total of 70 per cent work has been completed on the South part as of 30 January 2023.

The Northern Part would be from the North End of Bandra Worli Sea Link to Kandivali Junction. Work on this stretch is yet to commence.

Fishermen Demand

The BMC is constructing a traffic interchange at Worli to connect MCRP with BWSL. The interchange will be an elevated structure, which would come up on pillars constructed in the shallow waters of the sea.

The MCRP project team had initially recommended the gap between each pillar to be kept around 60 m which was opposed by the members of the fisherfolk community from the Cleveland Bunder, an artisan fishing port in the Koliwada.

The community of fisherfolk asserted that the Bunder’s shallow waters with rocks would make it arduous to navigate their boats through such a brief span, and that tidal waves could harm their vessels.

Consequently, they urged the width of the span to be extended to 200 metre. However, the BMC declined, which resulted in protests and halted work for several months.

In December 2022, the controversy was ultimately settled, with the BMC consenting to provide a 120-metre span for the fisherfolk’s boats, an increase from the previous promise of 60 metre.

Design Change

The chief engineer of the Coastal Road project had said that the navigation span of 120 metre will be only between pillars 7-9, while it will be 60 metre for the remaining pillars.

However, to create a 120-m wide navigational span, pillar number 8 had to be removed which necessitated the design change.

“Since construction of one pillar was cancelled, the load from that portion will go on to the pillars on each side. Hence, both these new pillars have to be redesigned to bear 1.5 times the weight from its original capacity,” said a BMC official.

The civic body subsequently appointed two consultants to finalise the new design of the pillars and decide on a new timeline for executing the project.

The end result has been that quite a significant time from the construction season (non-monsoon season) is already lost and project deadlines will be pushed by nearly seven months.

On Backfoot

Earlier on 28 February, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had told the legislative assembly that the Coastal Road project is likely to be delayed, but had not specified by how long.

“Due to the change in the project as a result of widening of the distance between pillars, there may be additional cost and delay to complete the project. Apart from the increase in the distance in those pillars the rest of the work has to be completed in time. We want to complete the rest of the work,” Shinde said while replying to questions raised by MLAs Ajit Pawar, Chagan Bhujbal, and others.

In the case of the increase in the distance between pillars, the proposal given by the contractor will be scrutinised by the BMC’s consultant based on the terms and conditions of the contract. The BMC is trying to get the work done in minimal additional cost and limited time,” he added.

Shinde did not specify the exact quantum of delay or if the November 2023 deadline has been extended.

Agra Metro Rail: Draped In Yellow, First Rake Arrives From Gujarat

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The French Rolling Stock major, Alstom, has delivered its first train set to Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) for Agra Metro Rail Project.

The first rake of three metro coaches was brought via road to Agra and successfully unloaded at Agra Metro’s PAC Depot on Monday (6 March).

Under the ‘Make in India’ and ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ initiatives, these metro trains are 100 per cent indigenously manufactured at Alstom’s rolling stock manufacturing facility in Savli, Gujarat.

Initially, the trains will be tested on the 1 km long test track built inside the depot for all equipments and safety features.

Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had virtually unveiled Agra Metro trains’ final design with yellow stripes in August last year.

Contract to Bombardier

In July 2020, UPMRC had awarded a combined contract to Bombardier Transportation (BT) to design, build and deliver 201 standard gauge metro cars and signalling system for Agra and Kanpur Metro Project with a provision for supply of an additional 51 metro cars.

With Alstom acquiring Bombardier Transportation (BT) on 29 January 2021, it is now responsible for the delivery of Kanpur and Agra metro rolling stocks and signalling, including scope of all BT technologies.

Valued at approximately Rs 2,051 crore, Alstom’s scope on the Agra-Kanpur metro project includes delivery of 201 metro cars (67 units of MOVIA metro three-car trainsets) and advanced signalling solution.

Distinct Features

In total, 87 coaches will be delivered to the Agra Metro i.e. 29 train sets of three coaches each and will include six trains for the Priority corridor.

The metro trains for Agra Metro Project carry a distinct yellow colour and they are equipped with ultra-modern technology and seamless design.

Metro train for Agra Metro Project

Built with light but strong stainless-steel car bodies, the air-conditioned cars will have automated sliding doors, comfortable seating and standing spaces.

Metro train for Agra Metro Project

The trains will be equipped with FLEXX metro bogies and the MITRAC propulsion system to increase energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, and ensure the new trains meet the highest environmental standards.

Each train will accommodate approximately 960 passengers in the three-car configuration.

Two Routes

The 29.4 km Agra Metro has two corridors with 27 stations.

Agra Metro Map

The 14 km first corridor between Taj East Gate and Sikandra is now under development and has 13 stations — six elevated and seven underground.

The second corridor to be built between Agra Cantt and Kalindi Vihar in Agra City will be 15.4-km-long and will be completely elevated with 14 stations.

Currently, the construction work on 6-km Priority Corridor between Taj East Gate to Jama Masjid on Corridor 1 is nearing completion. It has three elevated stations — Taj East Gate, Basai and Fatehabad Road and three underground stations — Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Jama Masjid.

The Priority Corridor of Agra Metro will be operational for the people of Agra, by the beginning of 2024.

Prime Minster Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of Agra Metro Project in December 2020.

Delhi Metro: Tunnel Boring Machines Get Down To Work On 23.62 Km Aerocity-Tughlakabad Corridor

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) last week achieved a major milestone towards construction of Silver line by starting the tunnelling work.

The 23.62 km Silver Line is a part of Phase-4 project and will connect Delhi Aerocity and Tughlakabad in South Delhi via 15 stations.

The first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) on the Aerocity-Tughlakabad Corridor started its drive on 3 March to bore a 1.27 km long tunnel between Chhatarpur and Krishnagar stations.

A TBM is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross-section through a variety of soil and rock strata.

They can be designed to bore through anything from hard rock to sand. TBMs are especially useful for underground tunneling work in congested urban areas.

TBMs have revolutionized the way tunneling work is done worldwide as tunnels can now be bored without disturbing the buildings and other structures on the surface.

DMRC has been using TBMs for its tunneling work since Phase 1. In Phase 3, when about 50 km of underground sections were built, about 30 TBMs were pressed into service in the national capital.

Earlier last week, the Delhi Metro Rail had awarded the signalling contract for the Silver Line to Alstom Transport India at a value of Rs 219.59 crore.

Phase-IV

As part of the Phase 4 expansion of the Delhi Metro, DMRC is constructing 65.20 km of new lines across three different corridors in the national capital with 45 metro stations.

The three new lines are:

  • Magenta Line Extension: Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg (28.92 km).
  • Pink Line Extension: Majlis Park-Maujpur (12.55 km).
  • Silver Line: Tughalakabad to Aerocity (23.62 km) — the line will connect the operational Violet and Airport Lines from the respective ends.

As part of the Phase 4 work approved so far, about 27 km of underground lines will be constructed.

The development work on Phase 4 had begun in December 2019 with a ground-breaking ceremony, however, it was hit after the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in March 2020 in the national capital.

All the corridors under this phase of metro expansion will be completed by September, 2025.

312 Coaches

The Delhi Metro Rail in October last year signed a contract with Alstom Transport India for procuring 312 metro coaches (52 trains) for Phase 4’s corridors.

While the Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg extension of the Magenta Line will get 144 new coaches (24 trains), the Majlis Park-Maujpur extension of the Pink Line will get 90 new coaches (15 trains).

In addition, 78 standard gauge coaches will be procured for the Tughlakabad to Delhi Aerocity corridor.

All these trains will be compatible for driverless operations and will be manufactured in Alstom India’s facility at SriCity near Chennai.

The Delhi Metro currently operates on a network of 391 km with 286 metro stations (including the Noida-Greater Noida corridor and the Rapid Metro, Gurugram).

Samruddhi Mahamarg: 44 km Sinnar-Shirdi Stretch Under Phase II To Open By March End

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The 44-km-long Sinnar-Shirdi stretch of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg is likely to be opened by March-end, as reported in Economic Times.

Officially named ‘Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg’, the expressway is currently operational between Nagpur and Shirdi.

“The Sinnar-Shirdi stretch is likely to be opened by March-end. Barring a small section near Shirdi, the rest of the 44km stretch is ready,” said officials of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), adding that the construction of this 44 km section costs around Rs 2,000 crore.

Sinnar-Shirdi Stretch

The Sinnar-Shirdi stretch of the greenfield expressway runs parallel to the existing Sinnar-Shirdi national highway and is 11 km shorter than the existing highway which is more than 55 km long.

This six-lane access-controlled expressway is expected to reduce the travel time between Sinnar and Shirdi as well as Sinnar and Nagpur.

Once this section becomes operational, the travel time between Sinnar and Shirdi is expected to decrease from the current 50 minutes, using the existing Sinnar-Shirdi national highway, to around 30 minutes.

Similarly, the travel time between Sinnar and Nagpur is likely to drop from the current nine hours to six hours.

The opening of Sinnar stretch will also boost Nashik’s economic growth and benefit more than 1,000 industrial units based in the Sinnar industrial area.

At a distance of 30 km from Nashik, Sinnar is a town in Nashik district in Maharashtra. Sinnar is mainly famous for Sri Gondeshwar Temple and Gargoti Museum.

Samruddhi Corridor

The 701-km access-controlled expressway, once completed, will reduce the travel time between Nagpur and Mumbai from 16 hours to eight hours.

At present, commuters use NH 3 (Mumbai-Dhule) and NH 6 (Dhule-Nagpur) to reach Nagpur covering 839-km distance which takes at least 17 hours.

The expressway connects 10 districts of the state, namely, Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Jalna, Aurangabad, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Thane.

Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway Map

The first phase connecting Nagpur to the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district covering a distance of 520 km was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 11 December last year.

The remaining 181-km stretch under Phase-II between Shirdi and Mumbai, will end in Thane’s Vadpe area in the Bhiwandi district, and will be ready by 2024.

On Friday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde informed the state assembly that Phase-II of the project would be completed soon.

The project is the brainchild of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and was conceptualised when he was the chief minister in 2015.

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link: 93 Per Cent Work Complete, On Track To Open In December 2023

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The under-construction Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) crossed another milestone on Saturday when the segment casting work for Package-2 of the project was completed.

“It is a wonderful achievement as we cross one more milestone and move a little closer towards project completion. This engineering marvel – MTHL – is now 93 per cent complete,” said S V R Srinivas, Commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) which is the nodal agency for the MTHL project.

A total of 3,132 segments have been casted for Package-2 of the project.

Four Packages

The MTHL bridge has been split into four packages – while packages 1 and 2 are sea based, package 3 is on land.

Package-1 spans from Sewri (0.00 km) to 10.380 km and Package-2 is from Sewri (10.380 km) to 18.189 km. Package-3 covers the stretch of the bridge from Sewri (18.187 km) and continues for 3.60 km, concluding on land at 21.80 km.

Lastly, Package-4 entails work related to installation of an intelligent transport system (ITS), toll management system, electrical works, highway illumination system, and construction of toll plazas and administrative buildings including the command control centre.

India’s Longest Sea Bridge

Connecting Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai, the sea link reduces the travel time between South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to just 20 minutes from the present two hours.

Popularly known as the Sewri Nhava Sheva Harbour Link, the MTHL is a 22-km-long six-lane bridge, 16.5 km of which would be over the sea and about 5.5 km viaduct on land on either side.

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MMRDA)

Additionally, the project will promote greater economic integration of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and their extended regions such as Pune, Goa, Panvel, and Alibaug.

Financing

Recently, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) extended an official development assistance (ODA) loan of 30,755 million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 1,927 crore) for the MTHL project in Maharashtra.

This loan agreement is the third tranche of JICA financing for MTHL, and the loan agreement for the first and second tranches were signed on 31 March 2017 and on 27 March 2020, respectively.

Deadline

The commencement date of three civil works packages was 23 March 2018 and the progress is 92.60 per cent in Package-1, 92.28 per cent in Package-2, and 98.09 per cent in Package-3, as of 5 March 2023.

Touted as India’s longest sea bridge, the bridge is expected to open in December 2023.

Alternate Road To Kashmir: Excavation Work Completed On First Tube Of Khellani Tunnel In Doda

By
Amit Mishra
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0

The excavation of the first tube of the strategic Khellani tunnel along NH 244, an alternative road connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country has been completed.

Construction of tunnel on the Khellani-Khannabal section has been undertaken by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) and it is likely to be completed by October this year.

‘The breakthrough on the Khellani project was achieved on 24 February but because of the loose strata, we are in the process of stabilising it.

Within another 10 days, the work will be completed and in the next seven to eight months, this tunnel will be made motorable,’ senior site engineer, NHIDCL, Harjeet Singh told PTI.

He said the work on the second tube is also going on at a brisk pace and if everything goes as planned, the breakthrough is expected by April-end.

NH – 244

The NH-244 (Chenani-Sudhmahadev-Goha-Khellani-Kishtwar-Sinthanpass-Khanabal) with length of 274 km is an alternative route to connect the Srinagar and border areas in J&K with all-weather strategic road to ease the traffic volume on Jammu-Srinagar Highway via Jawahar Tunnel i.e. NH-44 .

The unidirectional tunnel is a crucial component of the Sudhmahadev- Goha–Khellani-Chhatroo-Khanabal highway project which will shorten the distance between Doda and Kishtwar districts by 30 km besides providing an alternate all-weather road between Jammu and Srinagar.

The work on the 1.574 km tunnel started two years back in March 2021.

The Khellani tunnel, constructed at a cost of Rs 431.28 crore, will bypass the slide-prone Batote-Pul Doda which has already been declared “unsafe” due to the reservoir of Baglihar hydroelectric project.

In 2008, around half a-kilometre patch of the highway between Batote and Pul Doda washed away due to capillary action caused by Baglihar pondage, the officials said.

The management staff of APCO Infra-Tech Private Limited, which is the contractor of the Khellani tunnel project, are also positive to complete the construction of the tunnel in time after the breakthrough of one of the twin tubes of the tunnel.

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