Delay in the Trans Harbour Sealink

In a sudden twist to the bidding of 22 km sealink, the Vilasrao Deshmukh government has asked the nodal agency, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), to check whether the bids could be re-invited from both the consortiums led by Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani. The bid was earlier closed after Anil’s Reliance Energy Ltd (REL)-Hyundai consortium had won it.
The government’s move, close observers feel, is an effort to favour the Mukesh Ambani-led consortium. “Refer the issue to the government in the next week by checking following four options: Either construct it on own, re-tender it, award it to REL-Hyundai or re-invite closed bids from both the brothers,” state government has told MSRDC in a meeting on Thursday.
The cabinet subcommittee on infrastructure led by the chief minister has thus deferred its decision on the approval of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Energy’s bid for the construction of country’s longest sealink, Mumbai TransHarbour Link (MTHL) by a week. “The subcommittee has asked us to come out with a conclusive decision over Anil’s bid after technically and economically testing all the four options. Either of these four options will be finalised next week,” MSRDC minister Anil Deshmukh told the media .