Mumbai: In a major infrastructure push, the Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the long-pending Virar-Alibaug MultiModal Corridor, which will link key economic and transport hubs including the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Sea Link.
A senior Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) informed that now land acquisition process will be fast tracked and all other tendering process will be completed in next few months following which by early next year 2026 ground work of project will be initiated.
The FPJ had reported first that the project will be taken up on BOT model as the EPC tendering obtained higher bid cost compared to the estimates. And since the new BOT Government Resolution was not issued the new tendering process was not initiated.
About The Corridor
The 126.3-km corridor will connect Vasai, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Ambernath, Panvel, Uran, Pen and Alibaug, while integrating with important national highways and expressways such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway (NH-48), Mumbai-Agra Highway (NH-848), Kalyan-Murbad Highway (NH-61), Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway (NH-48), and the Mumbai-Goa Highway (NH-66).
Earlier in a meeting on June 17, 2025, the Cabinet decided to cancel the earlier Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC)-based tender process and approved execution of the project on the “Build, Operate and Transfer” (BOT) model. In the first phase, the MSRDC will construct 96.41 km of the corridor, stretching from Navghar in Palghar district to Balavali in Pen taluka, Raigad district.
To fast-track the project, the state has also sanctioned immediate land acquisition at a cost of Rs 22,250 crore, with overall administrative approval of Rs 37,013 crore including Rs 14,763 crore projected interest.
The government further stated that:
A detailed proposal, including draft tender forms and concession agreement, will be required before the tendering process begins.
A comfort clause has been approved for HUDCO, assuring repayment of loans in case of revenue shortfall from MSRDC.
Priority construction will be mandated for the stretch overlapping with NHAI’s Vadodara Mumbai Expressway Spur from Morbe to Karanjade.
