BMC Targets December 2028 Completion for Rs 22,000 Crore Versova Bhayandar Link

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is moving ahead with the construction of the Rs 22,000-crore Mumbai Coastal Road North, which will connect with the Bandra Versova Sea Link and the Bandra Worli Sea Link to form a seamless coastal corridor across the city.

Also known as the Versova Bhayandar Link Road, the mega infrastructure project spans approximately 60 kilometres. Once operational, the corridor is expected to reduce travel time between Versova and Bhayandar from 90 to 120 minutes down to just 15 to 20 minutes, offering significant relief from traffic congestion across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar inspected the project site alongside civic officials and project consultants on Wednesday. During the review, Bangar instructed officials and contractors to ensure that work progresses with strict adherence to quality standards and within the stipulated timelines.

The project is slated for completion by December 2028, with an outer deadline set for March 2029. In July, the BMC secured Stage II clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the diversion of 103.6554 hectares of mangrove land, allowing authorities to expedite site clearance and construction work.

Civil works have been divided into seven distinct packages, designated A through F alongside the Dahisar Bhayandar Link Road. The engineering design incorporates double elevated roads, roads on stilts over mangrove stretches, two cable-stayed bridges, four basket bridges, ten interchanges, and twin tunnels measuring roughly 15 metres in diameter.

Packages C and D encompass the construction of a 3.9-kilometre twin-tunnel stretch between Mindspace in Malad and Charkop Creek. Excavation of a 65-metre by 40-metre shaft has commenced at Charkop, where piling work is currently under way. Components for the first Tunnel Boring Machine are scheduled to arrive in December 2026 to begin tunnel excavation, while the assembly of the second machine is expected to conclude in June of the following year.

As part of environmental mitigation, the civic body has planned compensatory afforestation covering 1.37 lakh mangroves over 255 hectares. Plantation work has commenced on 31 hectares in Bhayandar, with the remaining 244 hectares in Palghar scheduled to follow.