Centre approves Viability Gap Funding for MTHL

The Union Finance Ministry has approved Viability Gap Funding of about ? 1930 crore for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) project. The 22km bridge which connects Sewri in South Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai will be the longest sea bridge in India. Bids will now be invited for the project. Besides decongesting the city, MTHL will provide connectivity between the Mumbai Port and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Nhava Sheva. Commuters travelling towards Thane-Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Panvel-Pune and further to southern India will also get better connectivity by this project, besides boosting economical growth Raigad District and its surrounding areas. The project which is being executed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will be 27m wide and provide 3+3 lanes, besides providing edge strip and crash barriers. There will be noise barriers to reduce noise pollution and also view barriers near BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre). Additional corridors to facilitate traffic dispersal are also being built ? the 17km long Eastern Freeway, the 4.25km Sewri-Worli (East-West) elevated connector and the Chirle-NH17-Mumba-Pune Expressway Connector.