Another Gateway-Belapur waterway in the offing

After many failed starts, the waterway between Belapur in Navi Mumbai and Gateway in South Mumbai is likely to see the light of day.

If that happens travel time between the two places will come down to a mere 25 minutes. At present, it takes a little over an hour to travel from Belapur to CST by train. By road it takes almost two hours.

Apart from a marina to park vessels, a water sports facility and a small jetty will be built in Belapur. And the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) is likely to float tenders after the assembly elections. A similar project is expected to come up at Srivardhan in Raigad district. " Once these two projects gets implemented, we will replicate it at other places in Mumbai and the state," Paraag Jain Nainuttia, CEO, Maharashtra Maritime Board.

The project at Belapur is expected to cost around Rs5 crore. "The marina will have a capacity to hold eight to 10 vessels," Nainuttia said.

Dr Mohan Ninawe, Cidco's senior PRO, confirmed the development. He said the MMB's been allotted land at Belapur to build the marina and the jetty.

There are more than 300 yacht and luxury boats registered in Mumbai. The Ambani brothers, Vijay Mallya and politician Ganesh Naik are some of the luxury yacht owners.

A hovercraft service between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai was started in the mid-1990s, but was soon discontinued. Since then several attempts to restart it have failed.

14 nautical miles: distance between Belapur and Gateway
40km: distance between Belapur and Gateway
Rs5 crore: Cost of project
8-10 vessels: Belapur marina capacity
25-30min: Time to travel through the waterway