Bids for cargo transport from JNPT to south Mumbai via waterways scrapped

Plans to decongest city roads along with those in Thane and Bhiwandi by having cargo movement via waterway using barges from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to Mumbai Port in Fort, has hit a block. The MbPT has not found any operator to run barges. Now, it has scrapped the entire bidding process over the appointment of an operator.

Barges are long flattened boats that act as vessels to transport cargo. The MbPT and JNPT had mooted the idea wherein it was expected that traffic movement of trucks and heavy containers heading towards south Mumbai from India's busiest cargo port JNPT would go down substantially by year end.

But now the MbPT will have re-float bids for appointing the operator for barges which will mean the traffic movement of heavy vehicles and containers would not go down anytime soon.

An MbPT official said, "We are currently re-drafting the bid documents, and making it more attractive and viable for private operators. We are guessing, there were only few conditions in the bid document that private operators did not find viable, and in the re-bidding we will offer what markets want by working on it freshly."

The sea route-based cargo will be cleared through direct port delivery mechanism at JNPT by customs. Many containers which land at JNPT usually contain cargo headed for the south Mumbai region. The cargo travels more than 100 km before it reaches the island part of the city for consumption, and hence such a route via sea is being planned.

Meanwhile, around 600 trucks and trailers travel both ways on this route, from JNPT to Bhiwandi. Along with it, around 900 trucks ply up and down from Bhiwandi warehouse to city, for distribution in places like Crawford market, according to estimations of MbPT.