MbPT's Marine Drive At East To Cost Rs 10,000 Cr; Completion By 2021
Mumbai Port Trust's ambitious project that envisages modern infrastructure development at the 350 hectare land owned by the Trust along the Eastern water front of Mumbai city is estimated to cost around Rs 10,000 core and the project is expected to be completed earliest by 2021.
This mega project that will see development of a 7-kilometre long marine drive on the eastern coast of the city also includes an ecological garden, a marina on the water front that can accommodate parking for about 300 yachts, a huge central government office complex, which can house almost all CGOs currently spread across the city under one roof, and rehabilitation for some 10,000 hutments currently occupying land within the Port area.
"Tenders for some of the smart infrastructure works within the large project, which was finalised a couple of months ago, have already been floated and the rest will follow as the Port will get the possession back on some of the currently leased land blocks," said Sanjay Bhatia, chairman, Mumbai Port Trust, talking on the sidelines of a Smart City Council conference this week.
"The project will approximately cost around Rs 10,000 crore and we aim to complete the majority of the works in the in the next four to five years," he added.
A 7-km long Marine Drive along eastern water front between Mazagaon Docks and Wadala and the adjoining smart city infrastructure on the water front will completely change the landscape of the eastern water front of Mumbai. Once developed, it will be much bigger and more attractive than the Queen's Necklace, the existing marine drive on the Western water front in the city.
"In the next five to six years, Mumbai will have a completely new and smart city coming up on the eastern coast," Bhatia said.
There are also plans to connect the Ferry Wharf at the newly developed Marine Drive with Navi Mumbai and Alibaug through water transport and it will also be connected with the popular tourism spot of Elephanta Caves as there is a plan to build a ropeway between the island and Haji Bunder. Currently, the island is only accessible through ferry service.
The new development plan in and around the Port will also have a convention centre and an entertainment hub among others that will be built through Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. While, projects like marine drive, ecological park and the CGO complex will be funded by MbPT and the funds for these projects will be raised from the government as the central government departments and public sector undertakings will occupy offices in this complex.
This most ambitious revamp project for the country's oldest harbour--Indira Dock, was declared by the shipping and surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari in 2014 soon after the NDA government assumed power at the Centre. The ministry also appointed a committee under Rani Jadhav, then chairperson of MbPT, to suggest ways to develop the land owned by the Port in and around.
Although the project as of now seems one of the most progressive development for the business capital of India, there are resistance from environmentalists as they are not fully in favour of infrastructure development in this area. According to them, this development was planned in the MbPT land as the Port no more requires this extra land for its operations and such land should be ideally given back to the city, which needs it desperately to be protected as open space.
