Mumbai: The Mumbai coastal road project, touted as a game-changer for the city's traffic woes, has become a poster child for the increasing trend of cost escalations in government projects. The latest development is the consultant fee, which has been increased for the fourth time in five years, from a modest Rs 50 crore to a whopping Rs 76 crore.
The project, which was expected to be completed by 2022, has been plagued by delays and scope creep, resulting in a significant increase in costs. The consultant fee alone has jumped by a staggering Rs 26 crore in just five years, making it a major burden on the taxpayers' shoulders.
The construction of the coastal road project from Princess Street to Bandra-Worli Sea-Link end is being executed in three phases, with three consultants appointed for each phase. An independent consultant has been appointed to oversee the work of these consultants. Fees for first phase consultant has been increased four times, from Rs 50 crore to Rs 76 crore, is a significant burden on taxpayers, who will ultimately bear the cost of these expenses. Despite being 91 percent complete, the project still requires nine percent of its work to be finished.
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Project first started in December 2018 was delayed due to various reasons such as court cases, changes in technology, and COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a consultant fee increase multiple times. The latest increase of Rs 5 crore 26 lakhs for the parking works is just the latest addition to the mounting costs.
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The project's scope has also expanded significantly since its inception. The original plan was to construct bridges of 34 meters width and 2 thousand 100 meters length, with interchanges totaling 15.66 km. However, changes in the work have resulted in increased costs and consultant fees. The consultants have demanded fee hikes of Rs 5 crore 91 lakhs and later Rs 8 crore 92 lakh before finally settling on the current rate of Rs 76 crore.
The Mumbai coastal road project is not an isolated case, many Government projects across the city are increasingly facing cost escalations due to various reasons such as delays, changes in scope, and unforeseen events. This trend has become a major concern for taxpayers who are footing the bill for these projects.
