Mumbai-Vashi sea route project finally sets sail
Mumbai: Picture this: 45 minutes from Ferry Wharf to Navi Mumbai or Mandwa in your car! Were not kidding. The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) cleared the RoRo project on Tuesday as part of its passenger water transport project. On RoRo vessels you can drive your car onto the ship and drive off it at your destination.
Metropolitan commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad made the announcementduring the budget presentation on Tuesday, We have made a budgetary provision of Rs100 crore for the project this year. The idea is to start catamaran services carrying passengers from Navi Mumbai to the island city. We are also planning to carry cars through the RoRo project, said Gaikwad. The tendering process will begin soon, officials said.
According to additional metropolitan commissioner SVR Srinivas, the RoRo service will have a capacity of up to 200 cars. We are planning to start both passenger and RoRo services once we get the states final clearance.
In the first phase, we have decided to start the service on the east coast, since the sea here is quieter. We can safely run the service for 9 to 10 months of the year, said Srinivas.
He added that MMRDA would act as a facilitator for the Built Operate Transfer (BOT) project. We will help to construct jetties or terminals at Ferry Wharf (Bhaucha Dhakka), and at Nerul, Vashi and Belapur. We will also be taking the RoRo project up to Mandwa. The travel time for passengers from Ferry Wharf to Vashi, Nerul, Belapur will be 45 minutes, Srinivas said.
According to senior officials working on the project, feasibility studies had started back in 1983. But, they did not materialise as the MSRDC which was earlier on the project could not work out a suitable model.
There was no viability gap for the project earlier. It was simply awarded to a bidder quoting the lowest bid and hence failed to materialise, said a senior official.
source: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-vashi-sea-route-project-finally-sets-sail_1345745