India: Essar Ports Gives Shape To Cruise Service Vision With Hazira Passenger Ferry Terminal
India: Essar Ports Gives Shape To Cruise Service Vision With Hazira Passenger Ferry Terminal
The work on the Passenger Ferry Terminal has been completed by Essar Bulk Terminal Ltd (EBTL) which is a part of Essar Ports. This will make way for the commencement of a cruise based passenger ferry service that will be between Hazira Port in Surat and Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai.
The terminal that is based in Hazira will also make the path for ferry services being offered to many different routes in the future thereby developing India’s coastal transportation.
Phase I of the terminal project will mainly pay attention to the movement of passengers between Hazira in Surat to Mumbai. Though this service is an addition to the air, road and rail connectivity that is already present between Surat and Mumbai, the goal is the expansion to other coastal regions in Gujrat, thereby, bringing down congestion on road, fuel consumption and air pollution.
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The Hazira Passenger Ferry Terminal which is made by an Essar Company is the third terminal of its kind.
“We feel privileged to be able to contribute to the Ro-Ro ferry project in Gujarat, which has set a worthy precedent for the rest of the country. It has given shape to our honorable Prime Minister’s vision of Sagarmala, which envisages efficient cargo and passenger movement through the coastal route. Though we are a commercial port operator, we were keen to build this passenger terminal project in the spirit of giving back to the larger community. The ferry service will be a huge boost to tourism in Gujarat. We look forward to contributing to similar projects that will help unleash the tremendous potential of coastal transport in India by using the country’s extensive network of inland waterways.” said Mr. Rajiv Agarwal, MD & CEO, Essar Ports.
EBTL agreement with GMB
The permission was given the Gujrat Maritime Board (GMB) to EBTL for the development and operation of a Passenger Ferry Terminal at Hazira where a 50 MTPA dry bulk cargo terminal is already being operated by the Company. EBTL was responsible for the designing and construction of the facility which includes both marine structures such as landing platform, passenger walkway and floating pontoon and facilities that are shore-based such as a terminal building, cafeteria, and vehicle parking area. The project was finished very fast by making use of the in-house expertise and resources of Essar.
“I congratulate my team for building the passenger terminal in just eight months after receiving GMB’s permission to initiate this project. It was a challenging task that tested our technical expertise and project execution capabilities. We are proud to have commissioned the project in record time to pave the way for the launch of this revolutionary ferry service,” said Capt. Subhas Das, CEO-EBTL.
Reference: Essarports
