The Mumbai International Cruise Terminal at BPX-Indira Dock, the much anticipated and ambitious project of Mumbai Port Authority, is expected to be commissioned by July 2024.

Mumbai Port Authority chairman Rajiv Jalota said that out of the total project cost of Rs 495 Cr, Rs 303 Cr will be incurred by the Authority for bare infrastructure and the remaining Rs 192 Cr will be invested by private operator/s for the interiors including elevators, escalator and multi storied car parking. The terminal will have a capacity of handling 200 ships and 1 million passengers per annum.

Jalota was talking to the press Thursday on the occasion of completion of seven years of the government of India’s flagship Sagarmala programme for development of ports across the country.

Built on an area of 4.15 lakh sq ft, the first-of-its-kind iconic sea cruise terminal in India, two cruise ships will be able to berth at a time on the dock .The terminal will have 22 elevators, 10 escalators and multi-storied car parking for 300 cars, facility for recreation, leisure and retail.

“Domestic and international cruising is expected to be the main activity at Mumbai Port in the coming days. The Mumbai Port Authority is laying special focus on cruise tourism, passenger transportation and ship repair,” said Jalota.  

The MPA chief further said that to showcase India as a cruise destination and to establish and promote the ports of  Mumbai, Goa, Kochi and those on the east coast as cruise hubs of the nation, a Cruise Conference is being planned.

He also spoke about other ongoing projects

Speaking on Kanhoji Angre Lighthouse Development, Jalota said the Kanhoji Angre Island is being developed under the Lighthouse Tourism scheme. It is aimed to enhance the scope of cruise tourism and attract international passengers.

“The work order for the project has been issued and scheduled commercial operation will be March 2023. Mumbai Port has done developmental works worth Rs 18 crore on the island which attracts a lot of visitors,” he said. The island will have facilities for trekking, sit-outs, viewing galleries, interesting pergolas and resting benches, out- door restaurants, performances, overnight camping, etc.

Speaking on Fish Jetty at Mallet Bunder harbour that normally handles more than 700 trawlers per day and around 900 trawlers on peak days, he said, “This may soon increase to 1,300. We are planning to develop a fishing harbour to decrease the congestion under the Sagarmala Project. We are planning to start this work in 2022 and we aim to finish it in two years.”

The project is fully funded by Sagarmala and Fisheries Department, GoI to cater to increased demand from fishermen community.

In addition to the above, a third chemical berth is being constructed at Pirpau which is funded by Sagarmala and have capacity addition of 2 MMTPA, displacement load of 72,500 T catering to handle chemicals including LPG. The project will be commissioned in March 2024. The project cost is Rs 161 Cr and 50% of the cost is shared by GoI under the Sagarmala funding.

The projects that got completed under Sagarmala  include, 5th Oil Berth at Jawahar which got commissioned on January 30, 2021, Redevelopment and Facelift of Indira Dock, Construction of Passenger Boat Landing Jetty at Kanhoji Angre Island, Development of Domestic Cruise Terminal, Offshore Container Terminal (Automobile Hub Export Terminal), Bunkering Terminal at Jawahar Dweep and Ship Repair Operations at 7 Indira Dock and Development of Hughes Dry Dock which will have world class ship repair facility at Mumbai and a floating dry dock.

Some ambitious proposed port infrastructure development under Sagarmala projects include: Development of Marina at 5.02Ha at Prince Dock. The facility with an estimated cost of Rs 575 Cr in PPP mode will have 300 yachts. RPF bids for same are expected to be invited shortly and scheduled commercial operation is expected to start from March 2027.

The ropeway between Sewri and Elephenta in Mumbai Harbour will be the worlds’ longest ropeway over sea (approx 8 kms) with all required infrastructure at both terminal ends.

Development of Ecological and Cultural Park at Sewri is expected to ensure protection and enhancement of historical heritage area including Sewree Fort and also provide sustainable socio- economic and financial model for the project.

Implementation of the Dedicated Goods line between Wadala and Kurla will help evacuate seamless port traffic 24x7.

Amongst the ongoing projects, the Tank Farm reclaimed area of 13.5 Ha at JD 5 created using excavated rock material of Mumbai Metro, will be used for storage of crude oil having capacity of 3.6 lakhs. With reclamation expected to complete by December 2022, it will be handed over to oil PSUs for setting up crude oil tankages.

The Floating Storage and Regasification Unit being set up at the cost of Rs 2,600 Cr on PPP mode is scheduled for commercial operation in June 2025. The floating LNG terminal will transfer LNG to storage tanks to convert into gas through regasification unit and then transfer it through submarine pipelines connecting to the existing GAIL pipeline grid at Uran.

All said projects by Mumbai Port Authority under Sagarmala will cost Rs 8757.81 Cr and expected to generate employment opportunities, add to maritime economy enhance tourism and allied industries.
                            
Sagarmala is an ambitious national initiative of the Ministry of Shipping, GoI, to bring about a steep change in India’s logistics sector performance by unlocking full potential of India’s coastline and waterways. Sagarmala aspires to reduce logistics costs for EXIM and domestic cargo leading to overall cost savings of Rs 35,000 Cr to Rs 40,000 Cr per annum focusing on the concept of port-led development.

The Sagarmala scheme encompasses projects worth Rs. 5.48 lakh crore, out of which 194 projects worth Rs. 99,000 crore have been completed and 217 projects worth Rs. 2.12 lakh crore are under implementation.

Mumbai Port caters to 8.61% of the country’s sea borne trade handled by major ports of the country and caters to 16.07% of POL traffic handled by major ports.