With an aim to maximise Mumbai’s tourism, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) organised an event on Saturday to inaugurate the newly functional Domestic Cruise Terminal and the most awaited Mumbai-Goa luxury cruise 'Angriya'. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari were chief guests at the event along with other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
131 metre-long and 120-metre wide, MV Angriya owned by Angriya Sea Eagles Private Limited, is named after the great admiral of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s navy, Kanhoji Angre. A MbPT official informed that the ship will sail every alternate day from Mumbai and its commercial service will start from October 24. The price range of the cruise will be from ₹7,000 to ₹12,000.
Angriya flagged off from Mumbai’s Princess docks on Saturday evening and reached Goa on Sunday in the afternoon. The cruise consists of six decks and 104 cabins, while it can ferry up to 400 passengers. While addressing the media on the cruise, Gadkari said that 100 such cruises will be initiated in order to boost the economic relations and connectivity between Mumbai and Goa.
While speaking at the event, Gadkari said that this is not just a tourist boat but in the coming five years, 40 lakh tourists through cruises will travel the country.
Indian government revamped the century-old ferry wharf in less than ₹2 Cr. While addressing the gathering after inaugurating the domestic cruise terminal, Gadkari said that this sector will provide employment opportunities to 2.5 lakh youth in the next five years.
By 2041, India has the potential to attract more than 40 lakh tourists through its cruise service. Domestic Cruise Terminal along with the upcoming International Cruise Terminal will hugely benefit the cruise sector and India will facilitate nearly 30 lakh passengers from Mumbai in the next 10 years,” Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Also Read - Mumbai Port Trust Project: Development Of International Cruise Terminal Will Help Generate Two Lakh Jobs
In order to solve the problem of dumping construction waste of Metro, the Union Minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister also set the foundation stone for the reclamation project. Under this project, the debris and rock material from Metro Rail project will be utilised to reclaim 13 hectares of land at Jawahar Dweep. With the probable capacity of 4.28 lakhs kilolitre, the reclaimed land will be used as oil terminal to store crude. The same is expected to be finished by October 2019.
This reclamation project caters to an environment-friendly approach and will help reduce the movement of 2,000 trucks in the city carrying goods. The direct connectivity and transportation of crude from Jawahar Dweep to Mumbai will help reduce pollution and save almost 12 lakh litres of diesel,” Gadkari said.
At the event, MbPT announced to give dry docks at Indira Dock to Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for 29 years to increase the efficiency of repairing ships. Currently, less than 35 ships in a year were being repaired at the dry dock with a year and half of waiting list.
Aiming to develop a ship repair facility to match Internal shipyards, this initiative will increase the ability to repair ships up to 100 per year with zero waiting list time. The number will gradually increase to repairing more than 200 afloat.
Also Read - Mumbai Port Trust’s Upcoming Projects To Shape Mumbai’s Future
Along with CM Fadnavis and Union Minister Gadkari, BJP MP Arvind Sawant, State Ministers including Jay Kumar Rawal, Vinod Tawde, Subhash Desai and others were present on the occasion.
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