Mumbai makeover may be back on track

Infrastructure projects worth over Rs 37,000 crore (Rs 370 billion) are expected to be back on track with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party combine returning to power.

The showpiece infrastructure projects include the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link, Dharavi Redevelopment, Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, the Colaba-Bandra leg of the Mumbai Metro project apart from Mantralaya Redevelopment project. They were delayed because of the election code of conduct that kicked in after the Election Commission announced the election dates in August this year.

There was a sense of relief in corporate circles in Mumbai since a change in the government could have put all these projects in review mode, meaning further delays.

Sanjay G Ubale, MD and CEO of Tata Realty and Infrastructure, said he expected the projects to shift from the drawing board to actual execution very soon. Tata Realty is bidding for highways, rail and port projects in the state.

Ubale says since the projects were conceived by the same government, there will be renewed pressure on it to deliver this time.

These projects have been running behind schedule for reasons ranging from financial viability, rehabilitation and resettlement and government delays. But Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has already said that Mumbai's makeover would be among his top priorities.

A M Naik, chairman and managing director of construction and infrastructure major L&T, said he expected the government to complete the projects at a much faster speed now. "The trans-harbour link has been in the blueprint stage for several years now. They should take it forward. Several power projects and mono-rail projects are undecided. Many infrastructure projects in and around Mumbai are held up. The new government should complete them at the earliest," Naik added.

The Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link, the next phase of the recently launched Bandra Worli Sea Link, is awaiting final approval from the sub-committee on infrastructure led by Chavan for the contract to be awarded so that work can start from the end of this year. Chavan had left the decision to the next government.

A consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure is a front-runner for the project. Though the bids for the link were received eight months ago, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation board has forwarded it to the committee led by Chavan just two months back.

The Dharavi project, aimed at transforming Asia's biggest slum into a world-class commercial hub, had become the biggest challenge for the state government.

The bid process was delayed by almost two years and at least half-a-dozen qualified bidders pulled out over viability issues and delays in the last one year. The submission of financial bids has been postponed three times this year because the development control rules are still being finalised.

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link is also awaiting clearance from the chief minister for a new financial model. After the Supreme Court ruled against MSRDC's decision to disqualify Reliance Infrastructure, the government devised a cash-contract model that is yet to be approved.

The government is also discussing a suitable model for the Colaba-Bandra route, which is the third corridor for Mumbai Metro project.

The centre is expected to buy equity in the project. The nodal agency for the underground corridor, which has a viability gap fund of nearly Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion), is still debating whether the PPP model will be suitable, a decision pending for about a year now.

Besides, the government is yet to give final clearance for the Mantralaya Redevelopment plan, the bids for which were won by Indiabulls group recently.

Parvez Umrigar, managing director of Gammon Infrastructure, however, felt the projects would have gone ahead anyway even if there was a change in the government.

"Everybody wants to go ahead with infrastructure projects and keep citizens happy. It does not make a difference who wins at the state or the Centre,'' he said.