KOCHI: In an effort to add one more feather in the city’s cap by 2021, the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) kicked off the construction of eight more terminals for the Kochi Water Metro project on Wednesday. The work began with piling works at Eloor.Besides Eloor, Cheranalloor, South Chittoor, ferry at Cochin Port Trust, Kumbalam, Kadamakkudy, Mulavukad North and Paliyamthuruthu are the other terminals proposed by the KMRL for the project. With this, the total number of terminals under construction rose to 16.
“Construction of the terminals is progressing in various locations. The eight new terminals will ensure connectivity between rural parts of Kochi and the mainland. Their construction will be completed early next year in a time-bound manner,” said KMRL MD Alkesh Kumar Sharma while attending the ground-breaking ceremony at Eloor with senior officials of KMRL.
The approximate size of each terminal is 2,500sqft. The terminals will have all modern facilities for passengers. Kool Homes Builders, Kochi, has been tasked with constructing the eight terminals. The `747-crore Water Metro project is the largest water-related initiative in Asia and aims at bringing the metro experience to water transport by introducing advanced ferries and revamping boat jetties.
It was in August that the construction of the first set of boats for the project kick-started at Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL). CSL was awarded the tender for the construction of 23 hybrid passenger boats by KMRL in September 2019 for an estimated `175 crore. The proposed boats will have a capacity to carry 100 passengers each and will be powered by an electric propulsion system equipped with lithium titanium oxide batteries.