Mumbai cruise terminal to be revamped

O&M contract to private player in offing

The Union government may allow private firms to run cruise terminals through operation and maintenance contracts. Ports that have been shortlisted in the first batch are Mumbai, Goa, New Mangalore, Kochi and Chennai.

One terminal at the Mumbai port is being built by the government at an investment of Rs 197 crore. This will be tendered for an O&M contract upon completion.

“We are funding the hard infrastructure and providing complete building solutions at an expenditure of Rs 197 crore. The terminal requires a lot of other facilities, including retail space, to be provided by the PPP (public-private-partnership) operator,” an official said.

The government is hopeful that the world’s leading firms will compete for the O&M contract for the cruise terminal at the Mumbai port. The private operator that intends to take up the contract will be expected to invest Rs 100 crore. Construction work on the new terminal has begun. The 10,000 sq m old terminal that was built in 1970 will be demolished and the new terminal will be 10 times as big. The old terminal also houses two 3,000 sq m warehouses used for cargo. The upgradation of the cruise terminal will be done in the next two years. 

“The idea behind the revamp is to provide a world-class passenger experience to tourists,” the official said, adding that the cruise terminal had to match the size of the T2 terminal in Mumbai airport.

Mumbai port will be established as the turnaround or home port, and ports in Goa, New Mangalore and Chennai will be ports of call where ships will come in the morning and leave by evening. Vessels cannot stay at a port of call for more than 12 hours.

Bermello and Ajamil (B&A) was appointed by the shipping ministry to  prepare a report on the potential and scope of cruise tourism in India. The report said of India’s total cruise passenger traffic, 80 per cent would be handled by the Mumbai port. In the next 25 years, the Mumbai port will need five terminals because the current passenger traffic of 200,000 is expected to climb to 4 million.  Mumbai port will handle 3.2 million cruise passengers.