October 23, 2020: The ongoing work of the jetty in Nerul for water transport between Mandwa to Nerul and Nerul to Gateway of India is likely to be completed by March next year. Rajan Vichare, MP from Thane and Sanjay Mukherjee, managing director of City and Industrial Development inspected the ongoing work on Monday.
They informed that the work would be completed by March next year and it would be handed over to Mumbai Maritime Board (MMB) for operation.
The Rs 111 crore jetty work started in 2018 and it was supposed to be completed in 24 months. However, it was delayed due to multiple reasons from the delay in getting Forest department clearance to sudden lockdown in March this year.
While talking to media, CIDCO MD Mukherjee said the work has resumed and it is likely to be completed by March 2021. He added that after completion, it will be handed over to MMB for passenger services.
Thane MP Rajan Vichare said that the travel time will cut to 30 minutes from the present 90 minutes from travelling to Mumbai from Navi Mumbai after it starts operation by next year. “For almost eight months, the work was stalled due to different reasons. Now it is going on at full force and it will be completed by March next year,” said Vichare. He added that the water services will be triangular like Mandwa to Nerul and Nerul to Mumbai.
After completion of the jetty work, it will be handed over to the Mumbai Maritime Board (MMB) for operation. “The work on three water terminals, one each at Ferry Wharf, Nerul and Mandwa is already going on. MMB, the nodal agency for the project, has roped in the CIDCO and the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT). MMB will fund the construction at Mandwa, Cidco at Nerul and MbPT at Ferry Wharf. All these will be connected to each other.
Source: The Free Press Journal
