REVISED DPR TO BE OUT IN APRIL

First proposed in 2010, project envisages connectivity to Palghar, Thane and Raigad districts

The proposed AlibaugVirar Corridor revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be ready in three months. A senior official from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), who did not wish to be named, said "The previous DPR is of 2016. Therefore, a revised report will be prepared. The new report may have certain changes in plan and cost."

Reportedly, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had swapped the AlibaugVirar Corridor project with the MSRDC twin tunnel project. As MSRDC is carrying out the Samruddhi Mahamarg project, the said connector is essential to have direct connectivity to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). Besides, Samruddhi Mahamarg is believed to be used by commercial vehicles largely.

The MSRDC official claimed, "As of now, The measurement for land acquisition of total 51 villages has been completed. Measurement of a total of 104 villages needs to be done. MMRDA has taken the measurements of only 36 villages."

MMRDA had planned to carry out the project in four phases, a condition put by the World

Bank which is the funding agency for the project partially. It had asked that the cost of each phase should not exceed 500 million dollars. Later, MMRDA took approvals from the Maharashtra government for the same. However, now, since the project is exchanged with MSRDC, new approvals have to be taken, stated the official.

This project was first proposed in 2010, envisaging connectivity to Palghar, Thane and Raigad districts. The connector is expected to cut down travel time between Virar and Alibaug by 50 per cent, and is touted to create job opportunities in Virar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dombivali, Panvel and Uran.