KOCHI: The Kochi Water Metro project has undergone several changes since its inception, starting from its initial concept to its current design. The project was first proposed in 2014, and it is scheduled to begin commercial operations on Wednesday, with services running between the High Court Junction-Vypeen route. Furthermore, the Kakkanad-Vyttila route will also begin operations on Thursday.
In 2014, Elias George, the former managing director of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), approached the head of the Department of Ship Technology at Cusat, Prof K Sivaprasad, to discuss the possibility of a water metro. “He called me and we discussed a water metro.
The project aimed to set up a water transportation system for Kochi under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme to provide seamless connectivity for islanders to the mainland,” he added. A team comprising naval architects Prof Sivaprasad and Dileep Krishnan, Sandith Thandasherry, CEO of NavAlt, Vijith Vijayachandran, CEO of Industries Research Services, and officials of KMRL was formed to prepare the detailed project report for the water metro.
“In the initial stage of the project, the idea was to bring in high-speed diesel boats built using steel. During this period, we were building our first solar ferry, ADITYA. We had proposed exploring the possibility of solar-electric vessels. This led to the discussion on the size of the vessel, among others, and the finalisation of electric boats with 10 nautical speeds. It was also suggested that either aluminium or fibre materials should be used to build them. The initial proposal was to build the vessel using steel, which was not practical for the technology,” said Sandith.
Sources who worked closely with Elias on the water metro project said he envisaged integrating water and rail metro for seamless connectivity. But, the sophisticated features of Kochi Water Metro ferries were just an add-on, the sources said.
Cost inflation
Sandith pointed out that unnecessary technology incorporated into a simple passenger boat resulted in a significant increase in cost.”The ADITYA solar ferry was built for Rs 3 crore, whereas the water metro boat cost Rs 7 crore. The initial cost of the project was Rs 747 crore and a Rs 4.5 crore estimate for a boat, which inflated to Rs 1,136 crore and Rs 7 crore for a boat after bidding. There has been no accountability for this,” Sandith added.
The DPR of the project stated a ridership of over 1 lakh passengers once fully implemented. “However, as per the reply to an RTI query, the Water Metro expects a daily passenger ridership of 34,832 along the 78 km stretch connecting 10 islands,” said Ebenezer Chullikkat, a representative of Greater Cochin Development Watch. “For this footfall, KMRL doesn’t require a fleet of 78 boats. However, 23 ferry orders have been placed by KMRL with CSL, of which nine have been delivered,” he said.