Vivada to expand river traffic business

The company, called Vivada Logistics Ltd, Vivada had 70 per cent stake.

It would purchase four cargo barges, each with a capacity of 2,500 ton, and two cruise vessels this year, said R Sushila, executive director of Vivada Inland Waterways, on the sidelines of the launch of Mahanagar Cruise, a river cruise tour of Kolkata, on Tuesday.

The cargo vessels would cost about Rs 30 crore and the cruise vessels about Rs 14 crore, she said. The company had joint venture agreements with the West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation and West Bengal Forest Development Corporation for the cruise business.

The company wanted the Kolkata Port Trust to allow construction of a quay inside Millennium Park, for anchoring private vessels. Vivada had a turnover of about Rs 30 crore last fiscal. Revenue from cargo business was close to Rs 18 crore last fiscal. The company aimed to generate about Rs 22 crore from cargo this fiscal. Vivada would focus on hospitality with its cruise vessels for short trips to Belur and Botanical Garden from Millennium Park, said Sushila.

It had one holiday cruise vessel with 32 rooms, for two-day cruises, and two water taxis on the river Hooghly at present.