06 August,2015 09:16 AM IST | | A Correspondent
It seems that the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MHTL), the longest sea bridge in India that would be connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva will see the light of the day as Japanese Cooperation International Agency (JICA) has shown keen interest in funding the project
It seems that the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MHTL), the longest sea bridge in India that would be connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva will see the light of the day as Japanese Cooperation International Agency (JICA) has shown keen interest in funding the project. If everything goes well according to the plans then the loan agreement would be signed by this year-end.
The team of JICA, on Wednesday, met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior officials from the state where a part of the discussion that took place on MTHL.
According to state officials, who were part of the meeting, the discussions were fruitful, and JICA is very much keen on funding the project. The team is going to meet MMRDA officials on Thursday to discuss the procedure in further details.
According to a senior MMRDA official, "The talks have been very much positive and by this year end we might even sign a concession agreement."
It should be noted that JICA has already started the Environment Impact Assessment study for the project and once the report is ready, it would be kept in front of higher JICA authorities.
As per the talks, JICA would be funding 80 per cent of the project cost of the Rs 11 thousand crore MTHL project.
A few months back, a leading Chinese company had also shown keen interest in providing technical assistance for MTHL and other project that would be implemented in the state. During CM's visit to China, he had a meeting with a leading Chinese firm, which has expertise and experience in constructing the sea bridges. That firm had also shown keen interest in providing technical assistance in construction of MTHL.
