The Prime Minister’s dream project of the Gogha-Dahej Ro-Pax ferry service is all ready to start under the Sagarmala programme of the Ministry of Shipping. In a successful trial run conducted recently, 12 loaded trucks were transported by the Ro- Pax ferry from Dahej to Gogha across the Gulf of Cambay via the sea route. The land route between the two places involves a 294 km/ 8 hour drive. The ferry service reduces this distance to just 31 km through the sea route by crossing the Gulf in Cambay across 17 nautical miles. The travel time gets reduced to just 1.5 hours. This is an important development for diamond and textiles traders and workers in Surat, who can now travel via coastal shipping and reduce their travel time by almost half.
The fully operational Ro-Pax service, with carrying capacity of 100 vehicles and 500 passengers, will be opened on October 27, 2018.
Speaking after the trail run, Mr Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, said, “The Sagarmala programme is touching the lives of people. Gogha-Dahej Ro-Pax ferry service is all set to connect Saurashtra and South Gujarat.”
The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 615 crore, of which Rs117 crore has been funded by the Central government under the Sagarmala programme with the main objective of promoting coastal shipping and reducing logistics costs.
The initiative would not only reduce the travel time but also result in savings in fuel, fall in CO2 emissions and decrease in road congestion.
The project is a first of its kind in India as it has been executed in an area having the world’s 2nd highest tidal range. The project is expected to open up new avenues in coastal shipping and tourism and help in the socio-economic development of proximate areas.
