Maharashtra Maritime Board will develop five new routes at Bhayander, Majiwada, Kolshet, Gaimukh and Kalher
In a boost for inland water and cargo transport in Mumbai and the metropolitan region, the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) will develop coastal shipping facilities at five points in the Vasai Creek.
The MMB will develop five new routes and terminals at Bhayander, Majiwada, Kolshet, Gaimukh (Thane) and Kalher (between Thane and Bhiwandi), to facilitate the movement of passengers and cargo.
This is part of a larger plan to boost inland water transport in and around Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) by launching new routes to reduce congestion on roads and in suburban trains through an alternate mode of connectivity.
A senior MMB official said they had determined the potential of coastal shipping in Vasai, Rajpuri and Jaigad creeks.
The Kalyan-Thane-Mumbai waterway covering the Vasai Creek and Ulhas River, Rajpuri Creek (Raigad) and Shastri River/Jaigad Creek (Ratnagiri) have been designated as national waterways under the National Waterways Act, 2016.
"The consultants said while the Vasai creek had potential for coastal shipping, the Rajpuri and Jaigad creeks had low cargo potential due to the presence of ports and berthing facilities nearby. However, these two creeks can be used for setting houseboats, watersports, shipyards, tourism and cruise terminals," he explained, adding that the five identified sites in the Vasai Creek would require terminals with dredging for the operation of RoRo and passenger services.
The MMB has now asked for a traffic study to be commissioned.
"Apart from passenger and RoRo water transportation, the project will also help transport goods from the region to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway and towards Nashik while bypassing arterial roads and cities. We are assessing if this goods transport is logistically and financially viable," the official said.
The MMB will decide on whether the project will be executed by it or via the public private partnership (PPP) route based on the estimated costs to be worked out in the study, he added, stating that work was expected to start in 2018.
It is the nodal agency for the long-pending east coast water transport project, which includes passenger transport with RoRo services for vehicles from three nodes, namely Ferry Wharf, Mandwa and Nerul.
The MMB has also floated expressions of interest (EoI) for developing passenger ferry services between NCPA at Nariman Point and Borivli.
The agency, which operates services on about 12 routes in and around Mumbai, like Marve-Manori, Madh-Versova, Gateway of India to Mandwa and at the Vasai Fort, has also granted approvals to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's (NMMC) transport arm to launch passenger water transport projects connecting Belapur to Uran and to Ferry Wharf via Elephanta Island, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Mumbai harbour.
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