Mumbai's water transport projects

The West Coast water transport project, which has been dogged by delays for a while, has got several firms showing interest in it, with 14 of them buying the bid documents. The last date for submission of the papers has been slated for April 15. According to the plan, this project would connect Nariman Point with Worli, Bandra, Versova and Vasai with the help of swift catamaran and hovercraft services, providing thousands of commuters a transport medium, which is alternative to the road route. However, officials of the MSRDC, which is implementing the project, did not name the interested companies but only said that some of them were prominent firms. This is the third time in seven years that the project has gone in for bidding. The officials have not given any date when the ground work will be started for the West Coast plan. Water transport for the city has been a non-starter for the past 10 years, with the MSRDC failing twice to kickstart it, owing to practical problems and court cases. The last attempt saw the MSRDC offering the scheme to a firm, Satyagiri Shipping, but the deal led to court cases from rival firms. As a result, the transaction was cancelled. Similar to the West Coast, an East Coast water transport project is also in the pipeline and that will be developed by the MMRDA. Under this project, Ferry Wharf will be connected to Mandwa with vessels that will ferry both passengers and vehicles across the sea. The services will be extended to other areas later. The MMRDA, which is preparing a detailed project report on the East Coast, will build the jetties and allow a private firm to operate the services. MMRDA officials said they expect the project to be ready in three years.