Mumbai International Cruise Terminal Worth Rs 495 Crore To Be Ready In 2024

The much-awaited International Cruise Terminal in Mumbai will be ready and made operational to handle cruisers from all over the world by 2024, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Tuesday (17 October).

The first-of-its-kind iconic sea cruise terminal in India is currently under construction at Ballard Pier Extension (BPX) berth of Mumbai Port.

The terminal will have a capacity of handling 200 cruise ships and one million passengers per annum and can berth two cruise ships at a time on the dock.

The sea cruise terminal with a total construction area of 4.15 lakh square feet, will have 22 elevators, ten escalators and multi-storied car parking for 300 cars.

Out of the total project cost of Rs 495 crore, Rs 303 crore will be incurred by Mumbai Port Authority and the remaining by private operators.

Problems' Galore

This is a multi-purpose berth, right inside the cargo port and is used extensively for berthing of larger, beamier and over-dimensional vessels which are on the increase.

Further, as BPX is a custom notified area, entry and exit are highly regulated which creates a barrier for the free flow essential for a cruise terminal.

Also, BPX terminal is very close to the naval base and thus free and unregulated access is unlikely to be permitted on a large scale.

As such, it was decided to upgrade the present cruise terminal to make it at par with the international norms matching the best presently available cruise terminal in the world.

The cruise terminal at Mumbai port is typically expected to attract ships with passenger capacity of 2,500-3,000 and also large ships with 4,000 occasionally.

“Domestic and international cruising is expected to be the main activity at Mumbai Port in the coming days. The Mumbai Port Authority is laying a special focus on cruise tourism, passenger transportation and ship repair,” said Rajiv Jalota, chairperson of Mumbai Port Authority.