that he favoured the construction of a submarine tunnel instead of a sea link. Gadkari stated that the tunnel would cost less than a bridge (citing the example of the tunnel between Rotterdam and Belgium), and would also be aesthetically preferable as a sea link would obstruct the city's coastline. However, Gadkari clarified that the Union Government would accept the final decision made by the State Government on this matter. Following a visit to China, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on 20 May 2015, that the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) had expressed interest in the MTHL project. According to Fadnavis, the CCCC will complete the project within 3–4 years of being appointed and will also provide 2% concessional funding for the project. In November 2015, the project was cleared by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). In January 2016, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) granted forest clearance, and the Experts' Appraisal Committee (EAC) attached to the MoEF granted CRZ clearance to the project. The CRZ came with a rider requiring the MMRDA to spend at least 335 crore towards an "environment management programme". In the same month, Fadnavis announced that the project had received all required clearances. In February 2016, JICA agreed to loan 80% of the total cost of the project to the State Government at an annual interest rate of 1-1.4%. The MMRDA will bear 1.2% of the project cost, and the remaining amount will be borne by the State Government. As JICA was unwilling to loan directly to the state Government, the Union Government stood as a guarantor of the loan. As part of the agreement between JICA and the State Government, 2 rescue lanes will be added to the proposed plan for the MTHL, and a 4 km stretch of the bridge will be constructed as a steel-only structure instead of previous plan to build a cement and concrete bridge. The use of steel on this stretch will raise the project cost by 4000 crores. JICA formally approved the funding agreement on 9 May 2016, and the MMRDA began the bidding process the following day. The MTHL received final environment clearance from the State Forest Department in May 2017. Tendering The MMRDA invited request for qualifications (RFQ) for civil construction of three packages - a bridge section across the Mumbai Bay and Sewri interchange (6,600 crore), a bridge section across Mumbai Bay and