Work begins on Ghansoli-Airoli Palm Beach Rd after environmental clearance

The much-delayed Palm Beach Road extension project from Ghansoli to Airoli has finally begun after the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) secured all environmental permissions for construction in an area filled with mangroves.

NAVI MUMBAI: The much-delayed Palm Beach Road extension project from Ghansoli to Airoli has finally begun after the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) secured all environmental permissions for construction in an area where mangroves exist.

Navi Mumbai, India - Feb. 18, 2025:Ghansoli-Airoli Palm Beach extension work begins, access to Airoli-Katai route at Ghansholi in Navi Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

CIDCO’s construction of the 21.12-km long road from Belapur to Airoli sector 10A to connect to Mulund-Thane-Mumbai had run into bottlenecks after completion of a 19.20-km stretch from Belapur to Ghansoli, as the remaining 2 km of work fell in the mangrove zone.

While a 2-km road was initially planned in the area, the plan now is to extend it to the Airoli-Mulund creek bridge, making it a 3.47-km road.

Since the road will cross the mangrove area, the project was stuck for years. NMMC then planned a 1.9-km bridge to ensure the mangroves are not disturbed. It has also undertaken plantations in Palghar to meet the requirements while also getting the requisite permissions from the forest department, mangroves conservation committee, and the high court.

“Work on the project has started with the requisite environmental permissions and soil testing is complete. We have asked the contractor to complete the work by September next year,” said Shirish Aradwad, city engineer.

The project is expected to cost ₹550 crore, half of which will be shared by CIDCO. It will not only provide a direct and easy route to Airoli from the rest of the city but also connect to the Airoli-Mulund creek bridge enabling travel to various other cities.

Motorists who presently use the busy Thane-Belapur (TB) road to head towards Airoli and beyond will have the option of using this road to reach their destination faster. It will also help reduce the TB road bottleneck at Airoli during peak hours.

With the road connecting to the Airoli-Mulund bridge area, where the Airoli-Katai route is also coming up, motorists will be able to travel towards Kalyan, Badlapur, Ambernath and Murbad, too.

The road is also part of the regional connectivity to the Navi Mumbai International Airport. It will also form part of the Coastal Road project from Thane to Sanpada.