Daewoo E&C completes India's longest sea bridge

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. (Daewoo E&C) announced on January 23, 2024, that it has completed the construction of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, India's longest sea bridge.

The South Korean builder joined forces with Tata Projects Limited, a subsidiary of India's Tata Group, to complete the project, which took about 69 months to complete.

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link is 21.8 kilometers long, and Daewoo E&C was responsible for the construction of the most challenging section, a 7.8-kilometer stretch over the sea, as well as one interchange.

Daewoo said it used the precast segment method (PSM) to minimize the damage to the mangrove forests near the construction site or marine pollution. 

The PSM method involves manufacturing prefabricated bridge segments in a factory and then transporting them to the construction site, where they are connected with cranes.

This method allows for minimal work near the mangrove forests, which helps to prevent forest damage.

Daewoo also said that it faced challenges during construction, including the spread of COVID-19 and unusual weather conditions, which caused delays in the supply of raw materials and construction schedules.

The opening of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will significantly reduce travel time between Mumbai and the satellite city of Navi Mumbai, from the current two hours to just 30 minutes. This is expected to improve the logistics transportation conditions.

Write to You-Jung Lee at yjlee@hankyung.com