Thane-Borivli tunnel project report in a year.

A detailed project report (DPR) and feasibility study for the 10-km Thane-Borivli road tunnel network that will pass under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park will be completed in 12 months.

'The consultant will be appointed in a month to prepare the DPR and undertake the feasibility study,' public works department minister Eknath Khade said. 'Its report is expected in 8 to 12 months. We have already begun the process for its appointment.'

The Rs. 1,500 crore project is expected to be completed in three months once the DPR is prepared. The proposed alignment for this corridor will start at Tikuji-ni-Wadi (Thane) and end at Ekta Nagar, Borivli, on Western Express Highway (WEH) with a twin tube tunnel. The underground road will have six lanes.

'The work will be carried out without affecting the ecology and wildlife,' Shinde said. 'Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar has also given an assurance that the environment clearance will be given for this project.'

A study carried out by the MSRDC says that as many as 65,000 cars travel between Thane and the WEH via Ghodbunder Road.

'The completion of the tunnel will cut the distance between Thane and WEH to just 10 minutes, besides reducing congestion on Ghodbunder Road,' he said.

The existing alignment connects Thane and Borivli via Ghodbunder with length of 23 km. As of today it takes between one and two hours to travel between these two points, depending on the traffic density.

The MSRDC says distance saving because of the corridor between Thane and Borivli will be about 13 km.

An official said that the financial model for the project would be decided by the state government. All options, including build-operator-transfer model and cash contract through loans from the World Bank or the Japan International Cooperation agency (JICA) would be comsidered.


TOI