The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is accelerating efforts to meet its ambitious goal of completing the first phase of Mumbai’s extensive road concretisation project by May 2025. This phase, encompassing a vast 397 kilometres of the city’s roads, marks a significant step in the civic body’s broader Rs 6,000 crore initiative to overhaul Mumbai’s road infrastructure.
Commencing on October 1, the BMC targets a 240-day window to accomplish this initial phase, which covers the eastern and western suburbs, alongside the island city’s roads. The project has achieved a 30% completion rate in the suburbs, with work in the island city slated to begin this October. The project is crucial for enhancing the city’s road network, particularly in light of the deteriorating conditions of existing roads. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), Abhijit Bangar, has urged civic engineers to expedite the work, prioritising the completion of ongoing projects before commencing new ones. To ensure that the work adheres to the highest quality standards, the BMC has enlisted the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) as a third-party quality assurance entity. The IIT’s role involves conducting comprehensive audits, from initial site visits to core testing, ensuring the project maintains rigorous quality control throughout its duration.
This phase of the project is part of a larger vision initiated by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in 2022, aimed at concretising nearly 701 kilometres of roads across Mumbai. The second phase, which will see the concretisation of an additional 309 kilometres, is also set to begin in October. Given the scale of the project, the BMC is taking proactive measures to prevent delays. Coordination with various departments responsible for utility services, such as water supply and sewage operations, is being emphasised to avoid any disruptions. The civic body is also ensuring that necessary No Objection Certificates (NOCs) are secured from the traffic police to address potential traffic issues during construction. In addition to these efforts, the BMC is involving other stakeholders like electricity, gas distribution, and telephone companies to ensure that their operations do not impede the progress of the roadwork. The target of completing each road section within 30 to 45 days highlights the BMC’s commitment to efficiency and minimising public inconvenience.
The focus on quality assurance, along with the robust timeline and inter-departmental coordination, underscores the BMC’s determination to meet its May-end 2025 deadline for the first phase. This project is not only about improving road conditions but also about setting a precedent for how large-scale urban infrastructure projects can be managed and executed in a city as complex as Mumbai. While the BMC’s ambitious timeline and quality-focused approach are commendable, the real challenge will be in the execution, particularly in navigating the complexities of Mumbai’s urban environment. The involvement of IIT for quality assurance is a positive step, but the success of the project will ultimately depend on the coordination between multiple agencies and the ability to adhere to the set timelines amidst potential challenges.
