Bandra-Worli Sea Link: cost rose 6-fold to Rs1,600 crore
29 Jun 2009
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), which is scheduled to be inaugurated by Congress president Sonia Gandhi tomorrow, was built at a total cost of Rs1,684 crore.
Initially the project was conceived at a cost of Rs300 crore, to be finished by 2004. But as a result of constant change of plans and other delays the cost of the bridge has risen over six-fold to Rs1600 crore.
According to experts, the amount of time to recover this cost would be at least 10 years.
The project, managed by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRDC) was constructed by Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) and its foreign partner, the China Harbour Engineering Corp. HCC has the additional responsibility of maintaining the bridge during the damage liability period of five years.
MSRDC has also appointed M/s Dar Consultants (UK) Ltd. & M/s Dar Consultants (India) Pvt. Ltd. to design, proof check and supervise the various components of the project.
A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Commercial) in December, had slammed MSRDC for the change in the bridge design favouring cable-stayed technology for a crucial section, which has caused an additional expenditure Rs70 crore.
