Kolkata: The West Bengal Transport Department is launching 13 eco-friendly e-vessels to completely overhaul the water transportation system in the state.
The work was started yesterday at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders with financial assistance from the World Bank. The state will spend Rs 240 crore on the project.
According to the Transport Department, there will be seven vessels with a 100-passenger capacity. Another six double-decker vessels will be built with a 200-passenger capacity.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for hybrid ferry design and construction was signed between Garden Reach Shipbuilders and the Transport Department on 19 November last year.
These vessels will be catamarans built with aluminium and fibre-reinforced polymer. These hybrid ferries will run on both battery and diesel.
The ferry operators can switch between two modes, which will enhance security. The double-decker vessels will be 30 m in length and 8-10 m in width. There will be 5 crew members running them at a maximum speed of 12 kph. These six double-decker ferries will cost Rs 126 crore.
The other seven ferries will be 25 m in length and 8 m in width, with a maximum speed of 9 kph. These will also have five crew members. These seven ferries will cost around Rs 100 crore.
As per the MoU, these hybrid ferries would run on different routes between Tribeni and Diamond Harbour.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders has earlier built the e-vessel Dheu that runs currently between Kolkata and Belur Math. Both parties expect that these eco-friendly vessels would reduce marine carbon footprints and other states would soon follow on similar lines.
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