PM to launch work on inter-district Mumbai-Thane tunnel project

Mumbai, July 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform the ground breaking ceremony on Saturday for the prestigious inter-district tunnel linking Borivali (in Mumbai) and Ghodbunder Road (in Thane), slated to come up at a cost of over Rs 16,600 crore.

The Borivali Thane Tunnel Project will be the second twin-tunnel system passing under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), creating a short and direct link between the Eastern Express Highway and Western Express Highway.

According to officials, at present the Borivali-Thane distance is around 23 km and it can take between 60-100 minutes for vehicles to clear.

However, once the new twin tunnel is ready in the next five years, the distance will be slashed by some 12 km reducing commute time to 20 minutes.

Following the go-ahead to the mega-project from Maharashtra State Wildlife Board in October 2023, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) started the initial process to construct the ambitious project, cutting underneath the lush green SGNP, which is teeming with wildlife including leopards.