MSRDC seeks financial aid for elevated corridor

MSRDC's ambitious plan of building a seamless elevated corridor over the highly congested western suburbs will be an expensive proposition at Rs 5,000 crore, pushing it to look at other public agencies for financial aid.

The cash-strapped organisation plans to seek funding from the MMRDA and the state government to be able to execute the project, which involves constructing an elevated link from Bandra up to Dahisar.

"Before starting the process of execution, we want to ensure that we can fund the project. The cost is huge, so we are in talks with the MMRDA and the state government to see if they can help us with the funding," said Bipin Shrimali, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MSRDC.

The MMRDA and the state government have also pledged funds for the proposed West Coast Water Transport System, another MSRDC project. The MMRDA, the state government and CIDCO will allot Rs 250 crore each for the project that will create a water transport network for a comfortable daily commute from Borivali to Nariman Point.

"We had examined a couple of options for executing the project. Although no final decision has been taken yet about the funding model, implementing it as a cash contract seems like the best option as we can ask the MMRDA, state government and even the BMC, if needed, to chip in for the funding," said an MSRDC official requesting anonymity.

The corridor could be developed in phases with the first phase tentatively being Bandra to Santacruz, the official added.

The MSRDC had also considered executing the project on a build-operate-transfer basis under the public-private partnership (PPP) model or raise money for the project by securitising existing tolls further. However, if the project is implemented on a PPP model, the MSRDC will have to give the concessionaire the right to collect toll on the road.

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