IANS 
 
Nagpur, Nov 29: The Worli-Bandra sea link will be opened for traffic by December 2008, Maharashtra Public Works Minister Anil Deshmukh told the state legislative assembly on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a starred question raised by senior Shiv Sena member Datta Nalawade and four others on the inordinate delay in completion of the work on the important project and the consequent cost escalation, the minister denied that the contractor, Hindustan Construction Company, had threatened to stop the work for want of payment.

Asserting that requisite payment has been made to the contractor by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and that the work is being carried out round the clock, the minister, however, admitted that the project's cost has gone up to Rs.13.06 billion from the originally estimated Rs.4 billion.

"It is true that the work, which was to have begun in 1999, could start only in 2004 owing to various problems and that some changes in the alignment had to be made in order to avoid inconvenience to the fishermen operating in the area", Deshmukh said.