KOCHI: The Cochin Shipyard Ltd’s (CSL) demand for a whopping Rs 15 crore to build a third roll-on roll-off vessel for the Kochi corporation has put the local body in a quandary.
The demand, coming at a time when cost-effectiveness is the buzzword among Kerala’s shipbuilding companies, also means that the commissioning of the third Ro-Ro vessel between Vypeen and Fort Kochi will be delayed further.
To put the new amount in context, the total cost of Sethusagar 1 and 2, the two Ro-Ro vessels delivered by CSL in 2017, was Rs 7.6 crore, or Rs 3.8 crore for each vessel.
The corporation’s health standing committee chairman T K Ashraf, and opposition leader Antony Kureethara have written to the CEO of the Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML), urging a thorough examination of the cost escalation, which is nearly four times the individual cost of the previous two vessels.
“The corporation is planning to purchase the third vessel using CSML fund. The cost estimate for the same, according to CSL, is Rs 15 crore. CSL has not given any explanation for the cost escalation. So, we have asked the CSML CEO to inquire into it,” said Ashraf. CSL did not respond to queries by TNIE.
Ashraf said there is no order to entrust CSL with the vessel’s manufacturing. “The corporation can float tenders and invite parties who can build a Ro-Ro at a much lesser cost,” he said.
Sandith Thandasherry, who built the country’s first solar-powered boat, said CSL’s vessels are complex, which could be reason behind the cost escalation.
“An electric Ro-Ro vessel can be built for Rs 10 crore. We are building two electric Ro-Ro vessels, each costing Rs 9.5 crore, for the State Water Transport Department,” said Sandith, who is also the founder of NavAlt.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had inaugurated the Ro-Ro service on April 28, 2018, and declared the project a floating bridge between Fort Kochi and Vypeen.
In the initial days, the service came as a huge relief for commuters. However, frequent disruption of service due to technical glitches turned a bane and sparked demands for a third Ro-Ro vessel.