The Maharashtra government is planning to launch 10 new waterway routes in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including four that will connect the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMAI).
It is pertinent to note that this move comes despite multiple instances of new water transport routes being shut down in the last 30 years due to lack of demand and high prices.
The initiative is aimed at creating water travel facilities to reduce road congestion and strengthen the economic viability of coastal transport, said officials of the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), which regulates small ports and maritime transport in the state.
Kochi Water Metro, which operates water transport services in and around Kochi, will prepare detailed project reports (DPRs) on the 10 proposed routes, said MMB CEO Pradeep P.
“We had invited bids from organisations twice to study the proposed routes. Both times, Kochi Water Metro was the sole bidder. We can process their appointment on Tuesday,” Pradeep P told Hindustan Times.
MMB officials said the consultant will have to conduct several studies, including boarding and occupancy surveys in the impact area around the proposed jetties, travel demand analysis, terminal facility planning and concept designs for the terminals, to understand the area of influence.
"The aim is to create an integrated, passenger-friendly water transport system on par with cities like Sydney, New York, San Francisco, Bangkok and Istanbul," an official said. The DPR on the 10 new routes will also help upgrade services on 21 existing routes, the official said.
According to MMB, water transport services are currently operational on 21 routes in MMR. All these routes have been operational for decades and serve a large local population around the jetties, MMB officials said.
In 1992-93, Damani Shipping was hired to operate hovercraft services between Gateway of India and Navi Mumbai as well as on the west coast, between Juhu Beach and Girgaum Chowpatty. Both routes were closed due to high fare hikes.
Several tenders were floated for water transport in the decades that followed, but most of them did not materialize. In 2003, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation appointed Satyagiri Shipping to operate water transport services on the western coast of the city.
In 2010, Pratibha Industries was appointed to operate water transport services between Nariman Point and Borivali, and in 2015, tenders were floated to operate ferry services between Belapur and Nerul. In all cases, the contracts were cancelled as no ferries were operated.
In March 2020, a ro-pax service was launched between New Ferry Wharf and Mandwa, which is still running successfully. Ferries were launched between Gateway of India and Belapur soon after the COVID pandemic, but were discontinued after a few months due to last-mile connectivity issues and low passenger numbers.
Share
Tweet
