The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is preparing to invite its final tender for the cement concreting of Mumbai’s remaining roads, with an estimated investment of Rs 6,600 crore. The third phase of the city’s road improvement programme will cover all outstanding stretches, bringing the ambitious pothole-free road initiative closer to completion.
According to officials from the BMC’s Road Department, this will be the last tender for cement concreting works under the city’s road development programme, with no further tenders planned for such projects thereafter.
Under the first two phases of the initiative, the civic body undertook concreting work across 2,118 roads spanning 691.08 km. So far, work has been completed along the entire length of 1,170 roads, covering 316.84 km. Additionally, 559 roads, extending over 171.40 km, have been concreted from junction to junction.
Overall, 488.24 km of roads, accounting for approximately 71% of the total planned length, have been covered. Work on the remaining 389 roads, measuring 102.04 km, resumed in October.
The upcoming third phase will focus on completing the concreting of all outstanding roads. Officials said the list of roads has been finalised and the corresponding designs have received approval. The tendering process, estimated at ₹6,600 crore, has reached its concluding stage and will move forward once administrative clearance is obtained.
During the first two phases, five contractors were appointed, with one each handling the island city and eastern suburbs, while three were assigned projects in the western suburbs.
However, delays and execution-related concerns during the earlier phases have prompted demands for a different approach. There are growing calls for the BMC to award contracts on a ward-wise basis to accelerate construction and ensure better quality control.
Attention is now focused on whether the civic administration will retain its earlier contractor-allocation model or introduce ward-wise tenders for the final phase.
Source: Prahaar
