From April 1, drive on Mumbai sea link to cost Rs 70, up from Rs 60 now

MUMBAI: Drive through the

Bandra Worli Sea Link

(BWSL) is to get costlier from April 1, with the one-way toll for cars and SUVs being increased to Rs 70 (Rs 60 now) and for two-way journey to Rs 105 (Rs90 now), as part of a 18% triennial hike.

Motorists having pass will have to pay Rs3,500 per month up from Rs3,000 now. Motorists will have to continue to pay toll till 2052 as sources said only Rs620 crore has been collected so far since toll collection for the Rs,2000 crore sea link started in 2009— less than 50% of the Rs1,240 crore revenue estimated for nine years initially.

This is because the number of vehicles is around half of the expected count. And this has led to the government facing trouble in repaying loans taken for the project. Besides, the sea link was built in nine years as against the expected five leading to cost escalation.

In December 2017, the state government decided to revise the sea link cost to Rs 1,975 crore from the earlier Rs 1,306 crore (addition of Rs 669 crore) to foot additional bills of the contractors. But since the government does not have enough money to pay the additional Rs 669 crore, that includes major share of viability gap funding, it has allowed the

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation

(MSRDC) to increase the toll recovery period from 2039 to 2052.

By 2052, the revenue is likely to touch Rs 10,500 crore—five times the Rs 2,000 crore investment since it inclu
des interest on loans from financial institutions. And in 2052, motorists will pay up to Rs 350, almost three times the existing one-way toll of Rs 60 for a car.

Through varied arrangements, revenue streams were created to repay loans incurred on building the sea link. However, as experts said, the one aspect that's missing here is a very timely disbursement of a large amount of viability gap funding that is visible in financing of similar projects in other states and countries.

While a substantial part of such investment is usually recovered through toll or ticketing, governments are known to subsidise a portion of the cost as `bridge finance' to avoid raising tariffs unduly and burdening the common man.

Sources said other than additional bills of contractors, the feasibility share from state government, the interest on the revised bills and loans, and the revised cash-flow based on actual vehicle count seem to have forced the government to approve the new cost and the additional toll recovery period. In case the

Bandra-Versova sea link

is ready and opens by 2021, which now seems a remote possibility, its oneway toll could be around Rs 210 for a car. And if one adds the revised toll of BWSL (Rs 80-90 then) the total cost of a one way drive would be around Rs 300.

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