Bandra-Worli sea link

Bandra - Worli Sea Link

The Bandra Worli Sea Link officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Setu, is an 8-lane, cable-stayed
bridge with pre-stressed concrete viaduct approaches, which will link Bandra and the western
suburbs of Mumbai with Worli and central Mumbai, and is the first phase of the proposed
West Island Freeway system. The Rs. 1600 crore project of Maharashtra State Road
Development Corporation (MSRDC) is being executed by Hindustan Construction Company.
Designs and Project management is by M/s DAR Consultants. The bridge was inaugurated
on 30 June 2009 by Congress Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The Sea Link will enable speedy
travel between Bandra and Worli, cutting travel times from 45–60minutes to 15 minutes.

1. Overview
Map of Bandra-Worli Sea Link Presently, the Mahim Causeway is the only link connecting
the western suburbs to island city of Mumbai. The existing north–southwestern corridor is
highly congested and during the peak hours results in a bottleneck at Mahim Causeway.
The sea link will act as an alternate route between the western suburbs of Mumbai and
central Mumbai, in addition to the existing Mahim Causeway. This link will also form a part of
the west island freeway.

Access will be controlled on the Worli end by toll plazas on the Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Road, and on the Bandra end by toll plazas at Love Grove Junction.
Vehicular traffic measuring about 120,000 PCU travels on the Mahim Causeway everyday
and during peak hours and it takes about forty minutes to travel from Mahim to Worli, a
distance of about 8 km.

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MSRDC has awarded the contract of constructing the Bandra Worli Sea-Link – Package - IV
to the Hindustan Construction Company and its foreign partner, the China Harbour
Engineering Corporation, which has successfully completed similar projects. HCC has the
responsibility of maintaining the bridge during the damage liability period of five years.

The original project design was modified to include two separate towers for the main cable
stay bridge. In addition to this, the bridge was realigned around 150 meters into the sea and
an additional cable stay bridge was introduced at the Worli side to increase the height of the
bridge to accommodate the demands of local fishermen of Worli Koliwada to ease the
vessel movement under the bridge closer to their habitat. Due to the change in the scope of
work, the project was delayed in the initial stages, which resulted in increased project cost.
The Bandra Worli Sea-Link is opened at 12:00 midnight on 30 June 2009.

The Bandra Cable Stay Bridge, part of the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) was connected to
the approach spans on May 27, 2008. This is a significant milestone towards completion of
the Sea Link being built by HCC prior to the onset of Mumbai’s monsoon this season.

The Bandra Cable Stay section of the BWSL spans 600 m in length and towers to a height
of 126 m (equivalent to a 43 storied building). The Cable Stay system comprises 2,250 km
of high strength galvanized steel wires which support the Cable Stay Bridge weighing
20,000 ton. An engineering marvel and the first ever open Sea Bridge of its kind; the Bandra
Worli Sea Link is one of the most complex and advanced construction projects in India.

The project was initiated more than 10 years ago but it was delayed due to public interest
litigations. The foundation stone was laid in 1999, by Shiv Sena head Balasaheb Thackeray.

The sea-link was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, UPA & President, INC, on
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009.

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2. Facts
Total cost estimation was of Rs. 350 Crores but escalated to Rs. 1650 CRORES.
(Imagine if we plan a small house with budget estimation of Rs.3.50 lacs and builder will
demand Rs.16.5 lacs at the completion)

Treat to the eyes, the cost of illuminating the bridge would be Rs 9 crore (Rs 90 million).

The height of the cable-stayed tower is equal to a 43-storey building.

The bridge would provide an additional moving outlet from the island city to the Western
suburbs, thereby providing much-needed relief to the congested Mahim Causeway,
which records around 1.25 lakh (125,000) public vehicles in a day.

"The eight-lane bridge will reduce the travel time between the two points from 60-90
minutes to 6-8 minutes. This will save around Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) a year in
vehicle operating cost alone," the official said.

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1. Bandra-Worli Sea Link: cost rose 6-fold to
Rs1,600 crore news

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.

A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Commercial) in December, had slammed
MSRDC for the change in the bridge design favoring cable-stayed technology for a crucial
section, which has caused an additional expenditure Rs70 crore.

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3. LIMITED TERROR POOL, DESIGN RISKS, HIGH

POLLUTION LIABILITY PREMIUM MAKE INSURANCE
A TALL ORDER

THE Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which has taken
possession of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link from Hindustan Construction Company (HCC),
could face challenges in purchasing insurance protection for the iconic structure as it
throws up new risks.

For one, the terror pool — a virtual fund created by Indian insurers to meet any terror
claims after 9/11 — limits the total terror cover for the structure to Rs 500 crore against
its construction cost of Rs 1,600 crore. Also, a standard property insurance cover does
not include design risks in the event of, say, a cable snapping or a girder collapsing.
MSRDC will also have to bear a high premium if it chooses to buy protection against
pollution liability in the event of, say, the environment fallout from a section of the bridge
giving way. The corporation is to take a decision on covering these risks. KS Pandav,
financial advisor of MSRDC, told ET that the corporation has a cover with one of the
state-owned general insurance companies under which all its assets are covered.

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“We will ask them to include this as well in the cover,” he said, adding that protection
would be purchased to the extent of the historic cost of the project. The policy would,
however, not cover any loss of profits on account of toll collections getting hit as a
result of any insured event. “That risk will be on the operator. But, we have, till now,
not faced a situation where toll collections were halted for any reason,” Mr Pandav
said.
However, some insurers feel that terror cover up to Rs 500 crore could be adequate.
This is because insurers calculate risk not on the total value of the property but on the basis
of ‘probable maximum loss’ — a term used to describe a worst case scenario analysis by
insurers. The protection may be inadequate for an incident of the magnitude of 9/11, which
falls outside the ambit of probable maximum loss. HCC, the contractors to the project, had
bought cover from the Delhi-based Oriental Insurance for the construction phase. “Our role is
over with the completion of the project. It is now for the new owners MSRDC to decide on
the cover,” said PSK Rao, deputy general manager, Oriental Insurance.

4. Revenue To Sea Link

4.1 Toll tax

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The MSRDC has proposed a toll of Rs 50 for cars (light motor vehicles), Rs 75 for
mini buses and Rs 100 for trucks and buses.

“The toll has been proposed for the period between June 27, 2009, and June 26, 2010.
After a year, it will be hiked by 5%. Final approval of the government is expected soon,”
a senior MSRDC engineer told TOI.

Meanwhile, BEST general manager Uttam Khobragade requested the MSRDC to lower
the monthly toll for buses from Rs 5,000 to Rs 3,000. This, said sources, was under
consideration. MSRDC officials, however, said the toll could be reduced but not to Rs
3,000.

The collection will be done manually, by issuing swipe card like passes and by fitting an
electronic tool in a vehicle, which will deduct the amount while the car passes through
the plaza.

4.2 Film shoots

Rs 1 lakh. That’s what a day’s shooting at the Bandra Worli Sea Link will cost. The shiny
new bridge has been on the radar of many a Bollywood producer and now that it’s been
thrown open to the public, lights, camera, action will follow.
Shooting at the sea link will be cheaper than putting up a set at the Gateway of India
(Rs 1.25 lakh/day) and only slightly more expensive than CST (Rs 90,000/day).
According to rates fixed by the state government, the fee for shooting at Bandra
promenade, Sea Rock hotel, or any such location with the sea link in the background, is
Rs 50,000 per day. The decision to open the sea link for shooting was taken after
producers began queuing up to seek permission to shoot at the swanky new

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location. ‘Shoot on link only if traffic is not hit’