HSA dives into harbour project

HSA Advocates (formerly known as Hemant Sahai Associates) has won a role as a legal adviser to the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link Project. It is working on the project as part of a consortium that includes KPMG, Arup and Consulting Engineering Services. The consortium was awarded the contract by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) following a selection process in which bids were made by seven pre-qualified consortia.

HSA is no stranger to large-scale infrastructure projects, having been the legal adviser on the Navi Mumbai Airport project. Its work on the harbour link will involve drafting project documents and managing the process of selecting a developer. “Structuring the project and the diverse contractual parameters is the core of the consultancy assignment and involves complex financial, technical and legal deliberations and inputs,” said Aparajit Bhattacharya, a partner at the firm. “The concession agreement, which will be the main project document, will need to be designed commercially and legally in such a manner that it is not only bankable, but it balances the risks between the developers and the government and public users of the facility,” he told India Business Law Journal.

The MMRDA commissioned the project to connect the Mumbai suburb of Sewri with Nhava Sheva, a port in the southeast of the city. The link will be approximately 22 kilometres long and will comprise a six-lane road bridge with a provision for a twin-track metro, making it one of the longest multi-modal bridges in the world.