BMC Floats Rs 45 Crore Tender to Beautify Regal Cinema Junction in Colaba

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has floated a tender worth an estimated Rs 45 crore for the improvement and beautification of the Regal Cinema junction in Colaba, south Mumbai. The project forms part of an overarching pedestrianisation plan encompassing Kala Ghoda, the Gateway of India, and the Regal Junction area.

As part of the proposed development, a one-acre plaza will be constructed opposite the office of the Director General of Police, Maharashtra, near Regal Junction. This new public space is set to house Mumbai’s first open-air art museum. To streamline vehicle movement, the number of traffic signals operating in the vicinity of Regal Junction will be reduced from 27 down to nine, according to local corporator Makarand Narwekar.

Under the new traffic management scheme, vehicular movement will be made one-way from the Regal Cinema side towards the Gateway of India to ensure smooth traffic flow in the area. Corporator Narwekar confirmed that all required permissions for the initiative have been received. An underground parking facility at Regal is also being planned for the future.

The civic infrastructure and design upgrades involve the illumination and realignment of Regal Junction. Civil works planned for execution include the realignment of medians and traffic islands, alongside the installation of basalt and granite cobblestones.

The project incorporates the repositioning of the Vikrant Memorial, as well as the installation of heritage-style lamp posts and cantilever traffic signals. Landscaping plans involve the transplantation of existing trees and the planting of new shrubs and trees to expand the precinct's green cover.

This development follows work executed earlier this month, when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the city's first pedestrian zone as part of the initial phase of the Kala Ghoda precinct beautification project.