KOCHI: The Kochi Water Metro Project will operate its maiden boat service in December next year, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) managing director A P M Muhammed Hanish said here on Monday, following a meeting with Germany’s envoy Martin Ney. The one-on-one was meant to take stock of the progress made in the project, the largest funded by Bonn - KFW, a German financial institution, is providing `582 crore - in Kerala.
“The phase one service of Water Metro will be operational from December 2019. We will operate 78 boats - fifty-five 50-seater vessels and twenty-three 100-seater ones. The boats will ply on 15 routes covering a distance of 76 km. The boats will have Aluminum hull, Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRT)- made super-structure and electricity driven. The boats will be eco-friendly,” Hanish said.
“Cochin Shipyard Ltd(CSL), L&T, UAE-based Grandweld Shipyard and Netherlands-based Damen Shipyard will bid for the boat building works. “By January first or second week, we will finalise the builder for the project. The project will be implemented within 10 months,” he said.
Apart from the tendering procedure of boat building, boat terminal construction tender will be held on December 23. The tender for constructing floating jetties is under way. Similarly, land acquisition and land transfer procedures are taking place. Another important aspect is developing roads to boat jetties which will commence soon. KMRL is also planning livelihood promotion under which small shops and kiosks will be set up at the boat terminals.
German Ambassador Martin Ney said KFW Development Bank on behalf of the German Government inked the loan contract with KMRL for water metro project. New ferries fitted with hybrid engine will enable growth in the islands and development of rural roads. “Conception work on the ferries and marinas are in finishing stages. Currently, tenders for shipbuilding and IT equipment are being floated.
There has been all-round progress,” the envoy said. According to Hanish, the German Ambassador was quite appreciative of the progress made in the project. “Martin Ney appreciated the fact we used advanced technology, including the battery used for electricity driven boats,” Hanish told reporters.Earlier, it was announced the Water Metro service will be off the blocks during the Vishu festival next year.