India, April 13 -- The conflict in west Asia has cast a shadow over the May 1 inauguration of the missing link project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway as the supply of bitumen, necessary for layering the project's two cable-stayed bridges, has been hit, officials familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times.

"The tunnels (that are part of the project) were laid with bitumen a few months ago once the structures were ready. But construction of the cable-stayed bridges was completed only recently, and laying bitumen is pending," a senior official from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the project proponent, told Hindustan Times.

Efforts to procure bitumen over the past fortnight had proved challenging even as price...