The cruise terminal at Ballard Pier Extension (BPX) will reportedly be upgraded by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) to bring the terminal in line with international standards. The proposal suggests increasing the total area of the terminal from 25,000 square feet to 415,000 sq ft.
This new international cruise terminal will reportedly consist of three storeys excluding the ground floor. The ground and first storeys will be passenger terminals while the second and third floor will be reserved for commercial and retail businesses (shops, eateries, and so on) as well as a car parking lot for around 400 vehicles.
Authorities add that this revamped cruise terminal, when completed, will be able to cater to nearly 10 lakh passengers per month and 10,000 passengers at any given time with the ability to handle around 500 ships.
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The authorities are also planning to set up small ferry boats to Elephanta from the current international terminal. This will save travellers the trouble of making the trip from Gateway, MbPT Chairman Sanjay Bhatia said while speaking to the FPJ.
The MbPT expects cruise traffic to increase exponentially by 2030 with around 7 lakh passengers and 480 cruise calls forecasted for the period. Currently, the cruise terminal handles around 1 lakh passengers with 105 cruise calls as per data provided by the authorities.
In terms of finances, the MbPT is expected to spend Rs 175 crore on civil works, and an additional Rs 75 crore on electrical works for the terminal. Further, Rs 53.3 crore will be spent towards installing fire fighting equipment, as well as a dedicated sewage treatment plant and other miscellaneous expenses, it is said. This brings the total expenditure on the terminal to Rs 303.3 crore.
The authorities plan to recover the project cost by branching out maintenance & operations to private parties through a public-private partnership. It is said that the MbPT will take advance payments from the interested parties towards maintenance & operations.
The authorities will offer a concession period of 30 years as per this plan. As per the proposal, privately-owned entities will spend Rs 192 crore over a period of 2 years towards the purchase of necessary terminal equipment while also managing the maintenance and operations of the project site. This will also include the construction of parking lots as well as necessary interior works on the terminal.
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