Mumbai Coastal Road Project to Be Completed by End of 2023

26 Jun 2023 CW Team

The enormous Mumbai Coastal Road project will now be completed by the end of 2023, having missed its original timetable. The BMC has told RTI activist Anil Galgali that a punishment of Rs 31 crore has been imposed on the project contractors, who have suffered a cost overrun of Rs 226 crores. Despite this, the contractors have already received 65 percent of their dues. Galgali had requested project details from the BMC. The BMC informed him that the project's work is separated into three sections.

Part 1 cost escalation

M/s Larsen & Toubro has been awarded the work from Priyadarshini Park to Baroda Palace under Part 1, and the original cost has increased by Rs 99.79 crores. The initial investment was estimated to be Rs 3,505 crores. The contractor had received roughly Rs 2,286 crore as of June 20, 2023. So far, a fine of Rs 8.57 crores has been issued for this job. The work was scheduled to be completed on October 12, 2022, however the deadline has been pushed back to September 10, 2023.

Part 2 cost escalation

M/s HCC HDC has been awarded the work from Baroda Palace to the southern end of the Bandra Worli Sea Link under Part 2, with an increase in the initial cost of Rs 62.25 crores. The initial investment was estimated to be Rs 2,126 crores. The contractor had received roughly Rs 1193 crore as of June 20, 2023. This work has resulted in a fine of Rs 15.37 crores. This section was supposed to be finished on October 15, 2022. The deadline, however, has been extended, and the project will now be completed by October 7, 2023.

Part 3 cost escalation

Part 3 work has been given to M/s Larsen & Toubro, and the initial cost has increased by Rs 63.83 crores. The initial cost was projected to be Rs 2,798 crores. The contractor had been paid around Rs 2,160 crore as of June 20, 2023. For this work, a punishment of Rs 7.25 crores was imposed. The planned completion date was October 12, 2022, but the deadline has been pushed out to November 26, 2023.

According to Galgali, the penalty imposed is relatively minor given the cost rise. Contractors work hard to secure such ambitious projects, but once they do, they fail to finish them on time. As a result, the cost rises, and the higher spending is covered by monies raised by taxpayers, he explained.