Sources said the project, which has missed the May 1 deadline, needed good connectivity between the Mandwa jetty and the highway considering its main premise
Even as the launch of the much-touted RoRo service between Ferry Wharf in Mumbai and Mandwa has been delayed, the state government has woken up to the lack of last-mile connectivity in the project.
The east coast water transport project is being implemented jointly by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and Mumbai Port Trust (MbPt) with terminals being constructed at Ferry Wharf in Mumbai, Mandwa in Raigad district and Nerul in Navi Mumbai.
Vikram Kumar, chief executive officer (CEO), MMB told DNA that in the MMB's board meeting, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had asked for the connectivity between the Mandwa jetty and the Mumbai- Goa highway to be enhanced. "This is essential considering the number of vehicles that will use the route," he explained.
Sources said the project, which has missed the May 1 deadline, needed good connectivity between the Mandwa jetty and the highway considering its main premise—that of saving time and money compared to road travel from Mumbai and Alibag. If the time saving was minimal, it was likely to affect the response and viability of the project, they explained, adding that hence, it was essential to widen the road linking the jetty to the highway.
It will take just around 35 minutes for passengers to travel from Nerul to Ferry Wharf while Ferry Wharf to Mandwa route will take 20 minutes (compared to around four hours now).
The first vessel, which can carry around 70 to 80 cars and around 300 passengers is expected to be operationalized by May end.
With a catchment area of users travelling from Mumbai to Konkan, Navi Mumbai, Raigad and even Goa, it will help commuters save time and money on the stretch compared to road travel.
Officials said the Nerul arm of the project being developed by CIDCO was likely to be commissioned next year.
Maharashtra has a 720-km coastline, including 114km in Mumbai, 127km in Thane and Palghar, 122km in Raigad, 237 km in Ratnagiri and 120km in Sindhudurg. The state also has two major ports, namely the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).
However, it has not exploited the potential of its coastline to the optimum in terms of developing facilities like passenger water transport ports, marinas and captive jetties. It has only a few operational RoRo services like Dabhol- Dhopawe in the Dabhol creek, Dighi- Agardanda (Rajpuri creek), Jaigad- Tavsal (Jaigad creek) and Vesavi- Bangmandla (Bankot creek).
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