The ambitious passenger water transport project by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) on the western coast of the city got a major fillip. Financial bids submitted by the sole bidder - a consortium led by Pratibha Industries along with Kakade Infrastructure and Malaysia-based Inai Kiara - were opened on Wednesday.
As per the bid, the consortium has asked for a concession period of 29 years. “What it means is that the concessioner will be running the project - if it eventually wins the contract - for 29 years. It seems to be a good bid as we were expecting the period, which is the sole criteria for selection of a preferred bidder, to be 33 years,” said MSRDC chief engineer Subhash Nage.
The formal contract for the Rs1,200 crore project may be awarded in a few days after the proposal gets a nod from the corporation’s board and the cabinet committee on infrastructure.
MSRDC vice-chairman and managing director Sonia Sethi said, “There were two evaluations of the bid; first by Darashaw consultants and then a recheck by Ernst and Young. Hopefully, our board and the cabinet committee on infrastructure, which is the final authority for approving the project, will give the bid a green signal too.”
However, decision on the fare structure and the number of boats to be run for the service has not yet been taken. According to Sethi, both decisions will be left with the concessioner. “As per the decision of a high-powered committee setup by the state government, the fare structure is to be decided by the concessioner. However, since it is a public-private partnership project (PPP), they will have to keep the fare structure attractive for commuters,” added Sethi.
