Mumbai: The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has been unable to start roll-on-roll-off ship service also popularly known as ro-ro service from the city's Ferry Wharf to Mandwa-Alibaug so far. The services were expected to begin from April end or in May this year as announced by MbPT. However, the authority has been unable to procure the ship till now and is still stuck up in the tender procedures. An official from the MbPT, confirmed and stated that the tender floated to purchase the ship at an estimated cost of Rs 40 crore has been extended for the second time; July 15, as it received cold response from the bidders. The MbPT had floated global tenders in February.
The ferry service once started will be a boon for those travelling to Mandwa, Alibaug and beaches like Murud-Janjira, Velas, Shreewardhan which are near the Dighi port as they won't have to worry about driving for three hours. The ro-ro ship can accommodate cars and private buses, reducing the distances to an hour and two respectively.
The project which was conceptualised in 2017 could not take off, as the earlier contractor Provident Multi-Trading Pvt Ltd, which was declared a successful bidder by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), terminated the contract for non- compliance of tender conditions. MMB decided to call for a new tender, resulting in which the contractor moved Bombay High Court (HC). However, Justice S J Kathawalla dismissed the arbitration petition on grounds that a public project cannot be delayed any further since the infrastructure is ready and the services will benefit many people.
Besides this, considering the complexity and huge funding required for this project, the MbPT along with MMB, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and City and Industrial Development Corporation will jointly procure this Ro-Ro ship by shelling out Rs 10 crore each.
