Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has successfully acquired 360 hectares of land for the ambitious Virar-Alibaug Multimodal Corridor (VAMMC) project. This expressway, set to be a major infrastructure development, will feature between 8 to 14 lanes and will connect the districts of Raigad, Thane, and Palghar.
An MSRDC official noted, “Our objective is to acquire a total of 1,000 hectares for the VAMMC project, and we have already secured 360 hectares. We are actively working on acquiring the remaining land and aim to complete this process as soon as possible.” When questioned about whether the land acquisition would follow the land pooling method used for the Hinduhrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, the official clarified that this project will proceed differently. Land will be purchased and compensation will be provided in accordance with the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act of 2015.
Regarding the project timeline, the official mentioned that a proposal for bond issuance has been submitted to the state government. Construction will commence once the proposal receives approval. The greenfield expressway was initially conceived by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in 2011. However, in September 2020, the responsibility for construction was transferred to MSRDC. The project has already received environmental clearance for an 18-kilometre stretch between Chirner and Balvali as of June 2021. It is estimated that around 5,000 trees will be felled, and 221 hectares of forest land will be diverted for the project.
With an estimated cost of ₹55,000 crore, the VAMMC is projected to be completed by 2030. The access-controlled expressway will feature a lane width of 3.75 metres and will comprise eight to fourteen lanes. In recent developments, 14 civil engineering firms submitted a total of 33 bids for constructing Phase 1 of the 126-kilometre expressway. Technical bids were reviewed in May 2024. MSRDC had earlier invited Request for Qualification (RFQ) applications in April 2023, with bids opened in June 2023. Out of 28 firms that applied, 18 were shortlisted for the Request for Proposal (RFP) round in December 2023. Price bids were invited from these firms in January 2024, with a construction deadline of 900 days.
