A distinguished team from the Shipping Corporation of India, led by Capt. B. K. Tyagi, alongside key figures such as Shri R. Lakshmanan from Joint Secretary (IWT, Admn-I & Coord-I), Capt. S. Divakar from Dredging Corporation of India, and Shri Ashutosh Gautam from IWAI, recently visited the Kochi Water Metro project.
More Details:
The Kochi Water Metro is a state of the art environment friendly modern urban water transport project of Govt. of Kerala, being implemented by Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. The Kochi Water Metro is expected to connect the island people from 10 islands to the mainland, thus enabling them to improve their socio economic status immensely with better jobs, trade, accessibility and better livelihood. Recently a new Water Metro terminal has started its services from Fort Kochi.
Objective:
- The project is expected to give a boost in the tourism sector as well and result in an overall development of the areas.
- The Project aims to integrate this water transport system with other modes of transport including the metro system.
- The Kochi water metro project is expected to reduce pollution and traffic congestions in the city and also ease access to business areas on the mainland for urban households situated along the Kochi lakeshore.
- The project envisages the development of 15 identified routes, connecting 10 islands along a network of routes that span 78 km with a fleet of 78 fast, electrically propelled hybrid ferries plying to 38 jetties.
Benefits of Water Metro:
- More than 33000 islanders are expected to benefit from the water metro. It is envisaged to be a socially inclusive transport system rather than being just a transport service with focus on improved livelihoods through commercial property development and tourism-based initiatives.
- The Kochi Water Metro Project intends to introduce modern, energy efficient, environment friendly and safe boats with low wake and draft characteristics at a high frequency to increase ridership.
- The Kerala backwaters are a network of brackish lagoons and lakes parallel to the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southern India.
- Kochi is the largest city in the south Indian state and is less vulnerable to storm surges or cyclones due to its location on the lower west coast of the Indian peninsula.
Background:
- Kochi, Kerala has become India’s first city to have a Water Metro Project after the launch of its first boat in December 2021, namely ‘Muziris,’ among the 23 battery-powered electric boats being manufactured by Cochin Shipyard Limited.
- The project was inaugurated by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on April 25, 2023. Currently, two routes are operational, providing a metro-like experience to the public and have been enthusiastically embraced by the public.
- The operation and management of the Water Metro is handled by Kochi Water Metro Limited (KWML), a joint venture with a 74% share from the Government of Kerala (GoK) and a 26% share from Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL).
- Together, KMRL and KWML have developed extensive expertise in various areas, such as electric boat design and construction, inland water transportation solutions, green energy solutions tailored for the marine sector, infrastructure planning meeting Metro Rail standards, exceptional project management capabilities, and operational excellence.
- Leveraging these unique strengths, KMRL & KWML share valuable knowledge as consultants, capable of providing specialised and unmatched consulting services for the implementation of similar systems in cities worldwide with navigable waterways.
As the project moves forward, KMRL and KWML continue to leverage their expertise in marine and infrastructure solutions to offer consulting services for similar initiatives globally.
Source: Kochi Water Metro | Images Credit: Kochi Metro
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