Reliance Energy has time till 4 July 2007 to appeal in the Supreme Court against its disqualification in the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link Project. The Mumbai High Court, in its judgement of 4 June 2007, dismissed Reliance Energy's appeal against the disqualification, but gave it time of two weeks (up to 18 June 2007) to seek Supreme Court intervention. This timeline has now been extended to 4 July 2007, a senior official of Mumbai State Road Development Corporation, the project implementing agency, said on conditions of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the prestigious Rs.4,000 crore Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project has reached a dubious stage with only one bidder remaining in the fray. The official confirmed that a consortium of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, Sea King Infrastructure and UK-based Laing O'Rourke remains the sole contender for the project. The IL&FS consortium was the only one to have submitted its financial bid till the last date of 22 February 2007. Two other technically-qualified consortia – those led by IFFCO and Larsen & Toubro – did not submit their financial bids till the last date, the official said. MSRDC has been restrained from opening the financial bids till the Reliance Energy case is disposed off.

If Reliance Energy does not seek Supreme Court intervention, MSRDC will open the financial bid of the IL&FS consortium. If the bid is found acceptable, MSRDC will award the project within three months. The developer is expected to complete the project within five years, including up to one year to attain financial closure. If, for some reason, the bid is unacceptable, it would reduce the three-year developer-hunt to naught, setting back Maharashtra's dream project by a few more years. Moreover, awarding a project in a single-bidder situation is generally a "“tricky situation", an industry analyst felt.

The process for selecting bidders, initiated in August 2004, was delayed for a variety of reasons including Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Energy moving court in early 2007 challenging its disqualification in the bidding process, on grounds of its consortium partner, Hyundai Heavy Engineering & Construction of Korea, not meeting the minimum net worth norms. The project might still go the Ambani family way, in the wider sense, since Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries is believed to have a 75 per cent equity stake in Sea King Infrastructure.

The IFFCO-led consortium included Gammon India and Sistema of Russia, while the L&T-led consortium had Skanska Cementation, Ital-Thai Development Co and Japan-based Meada as its partners.

What is Mumbai Trans Harbour Link?

The MTHL project involves the development of a 22.5-km six lane expressway connecting Sewree in south-central Mumbai with Sheva in Navi Mumbai. In the second phase of the project, a rail corridor will also be set up. The Rs.4,000 crore project will be developed on BOT-Toll basis with Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation being the grantor of concession. Jean Muller and BCEOM, both of France, are project consultants working in conjunction with their Indian counterparts – Crisil and Stup Consultants.