As per a new report, the cost estimate of the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) has gone up by ₹1,500 crores. This is raising quite a few eyebrows considering the fact that work on this project is yet to begin.
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The GMLR project is conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) which mentioned an estimate of ₹4,770 crores back in April. This is when the civic body sent out tenders for the design and construction of twin tunnels along with approach roads. But as of the most recent estimate, the cost has risen to ₹6,225 crores.
Digging deeper into the recently published cost estimate, the civic body claims that ₹3,205 crores will be set aside for the southern tunnel whereas the northern tunnel will cost ₹3,020 crores. The tunnels are expected to be 4.7 km long and will also pass through Sanjay Gandhi National Park or SGNP around 25 to 200 metres below the ground.
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Officials from the BMC have said that the rise in cost estimates is mostly due to the fact that the earlier estimate was provided before the Central Government passed restrictions on conducting business with Chinese companies or entities.
With China no longer an option, the civic body says that it has to source Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) from western countries like Austria, Germany, Russia, and Turkey which in turn cost a lot more compared to Chinese alternatives. It’s also worth pointing out that China is one of the largest manufacturers of TBMs in the world.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) at the BMC, P Velrasu said - “The earlier calculation of cost is more than a year old. Now, the process of appointing agency and starting work will take another six to eight months. We have to see what the price and inflation rates are at that time. It’s a futuristic estimate. Another factor now is, with new conditions Chinese companies may not qualify for the project that were providing low-cost TBMs.”
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