Mumbai, Dec 23 (IANS): The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finalised four major infra firms to construct the northern Dahisar-Versova section of the upcoming Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) set to cost more than Rs 18,000 crore, officials said here.

The northern MCRP will be around 21 km long with a network of roads, flyovers and a tunnel section to offer seamless high-speed connectivity between Dahisar and Versova, and is slated for completion within four years.

The work orders for the mega project – which has been divided into six packages for which tenders were invited in August after which four companies have been finalised – shall be issued soon, and the actual construction is likely to start before monsoon 2024.

The four companies which will implement the various packages are APCO Infratech, a joint-venture of JK Infraprojects-NCC Ltd, Megha Engineering and L&T, some of which are also engaged in construction other upcoming mega-infrastructure projects in the country’s commercial capital.

The work will start from Nana-Nani Park at Versova (Andheri) as an elevated road till Bangur Nagar (Goregaon), then to Mindspace (Malad) where an elevated road will connect to the Goregaon Mulund Link Road, and a 3.90 km long twin-tunnel will be bored from Mindspace to Charkop (Kandivali), then an elevated road, a bridge, and elevated road and interchange from Charkop to Gorai (Borivali), and finally onto Dahisar.

Subsequently, the project will be extended from Dahisar to Mira Road in Thane as part of the proposed ambitious Palghar-Mumbai direct link in the coming years, intended to decongest the existing Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway.

Incidentally, the first phase of MCRP, currently progressing at full steam in south Mumbai, would complement the ongoing work on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link which is being extended northwards from Bandra to Versova, and then till Borivali and Virar, linking Palghar with south Mumbai.

Additionally, the upcoming 5 km long elevated Dahisar-Bhayander Link Road will further serve to ease traffic movement in the north-south direction and provide an alternative to decongest the Western Express Highway, and in the highly developed north-west suburbs.