The domestic cruise terminal at the Victoria docks in south Mumbai will now be looked after by a private player. The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has initiated the process of appointing a private party for a period of 10 years.
The role of the operator will be maintaining the ground-plus-two terminal building, and ensuring smooth passenger movement availing services of domestic cruise terminal near the Bhaucha Dhakka.
A bid document floated by the MbPT reads, "The domestic cruise site area is approximately 6000 square meters, and plot with a scenic waterfront view. It has a building that has been redeveloped by the authority such that it can be used as a domestic terminal building. Apart from the building, the plot has an approximately 2,500 sq.m landscaped lawn area."
The documents further reads, "The cruise terminal operation will be carried on the ground floor. The first and second and terrace floor could be utilised by the selected bidder for commercial use (as per allowed statutory norms), unless there is a specific need for using the said area for cruise operations."
The MbPT's focus since a couple of years is to cater to cruise tourism and starting cruise ferry from Mumbai to Goa from October 11, for which a operator has been already appointed. In the later stages, new halts in the coastal town of Konkan region on the way to Goa will be introduced. This will take around 15 hours of commute.
The Centre is also planning to give relief in terms of reducing or waiving of Goods & Service Tax (GST) for those opting to travel via cruise. According to MbPT, about 120,000 Indian tourists travel to international destinations each year, especially to Singapore, to experience cruise.
According to statistics from 2016, around 25 million cruise passengers traveled worldwide. It is expected that the global cruise passenger growth is likely to be between 37-45 million over the next 20 years, having a growth rate of 2-3 per cent per annum.
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