CIDCO to part-finance Maha's Rs 1300-cr East waterway project

The project will be developed on the engineering, procurement and construction model

Maharashtra government's ambitious Rs 1,300-crore Eastern water transport project, which is expected to fastrack daily commuting between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, will now be part-financed by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which is the implementing agency for the inland waterway project, will get a secured loan from CIDCO to the extent of 35 per cent of the total cost or Rs 400 crore at an interest of 9 per cent.

Earlier, the government had decided to implement the project on public private partnership (PPP) basis, but it did not receive the expected response.

The project, proposed along the East Coast of the city connecting Navi Mumbai and Mumbai, will now be developed on the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.

"We will be funding the project through debt, which would be to the extent of 35 per cent (around Rs 400 crore) of the project cost at an interest of nine per cent," Cidco Vice Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Bhatia told PTI here.

CIDCO has, however, imposed two conditions for providing the loan-passenger ratio derived by MSRDC.

It should be verified from a third party like the IIT to check the viability and there should be a joint monitoring committee of government, MSRDC and Cidco officials to monitor the project.

"We have given this proposal to MSRDC and they will submit it to the government," Bhatia said.

The Eastern transport project, which involves construction of ferry terminals at three locations--Ferry Wharf, Nerul and Mandwa -- has already received the Union Environment Ministry's Experts Appraisal Committee (EAC) in-principle approval.

"The project is now before the state government's sub-committee on infrastructure for its approval. We have decided to take up this project on a war footing basis," MSRDC Vice Chairman and Managing Director Anil Diggikar said.

Meanwhile, MSRDC is also working on western transport project, which will make commuting between the western suburbs and the island city more efficient and faster.

This project too was green-signalled after environmental clearance.

Six water transport terminals planned for the western project are: Nariman Point, Bandra, Juhu, Versova, Marve and Borivli.