Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has set May 2020 as the deadline to introduce a modern fleet of 76 ferries in the Greater Kochi area for the Water Metro project.
Tenders for the ferries will be floated early in April, and the first such ferry for the ₹747-crore project will be readied for operation in May 2019, KMRL managing director A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish and Angelika Zwicky of German bank KfW told the media here on Thursday.
It was also decided to increase the number of ferries capable of carrying 100 commuters to 50, while there will be 26 ferries with passenger capacity of 50 each.
This is aimed at increasing the capacity level of the ferries which are estimated to transport 1.10 lakh people every day to and from the mainland Ernakulam with West Kochi, other coastal stopovers, and the islands that dot the Kochi backwaters.
Subsequently, there will be a nominal reduction in the number of ferries from 78 to 76, they announced, following site visits and multiple rounds of talks between Water Metro officials and the German team which also included Martin Nybo, the shipbuilding expert with German bank Kfw.
The setting of specific deadlines has cleared all uncertainty and ambiguity on the project.
The visiting team approved all tender documents. Care will be taken so that the ferries will have the best quality hull, shape and propulsion system, Mr. Hanish said. Replying to a question on the material (whether aluminium, steel, or any other material) that would be used as hull, he said it would be specified in the tender documents.
“There will be no undue advantage to any player,” he added. To a question whether the ferries would be fully or partly air-conditioned, Ms. Zwicky, project manager/transport economist (urban development and mobility), KfW, said that the design would be such that they are air-conditioned. On ticket fare, Mr. Hanish said: “Every effort will be made to provide world-class travel at nominal rate.”
The number of jetties has been increased from 38 to 41, in accordance with the revised detailed project report (DPR). Most jetties will be floating, thus lessening the need for land acquisition. Private land owners will be compensated, while land owned by government departments will be transferred (to KMRL) for the project. A few government ‘puramboke’ lands too have been identified, he added.
One million as grant
The bank which is providing a 85 million Euros (approximately ₹585 crore) loan for the project, will, in addition, give 5 million Euros as grant to train crew members in the best practices in ferry operations and for preventive-maintenance schemes. A team of experts from Germany will be based in Kochi for two to three years for this and to bring about a state-of-the-art docking system. It is a very exciting project being implemented by a competent team, Ms. Zwicky said.
The first batch of ferries will most likely be deployed on the Ernakulam-West Kochi route, covering areas in the Smart Cities Mission.
