If all goes well, passengers commuting between Fort Kochi and Vyttila will be able to cover the distance in a speed boat in half-an-hours.
To provide water connectivity to the world-class mobility hub, the government has asked the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corpor-ation (KSINC) to consider operating the project.
“We’ve entrusted The School of Management Studies, CUSAT, to conduct the technical and economic feasibility of conducting the speed boat ferry service.
It’s all set to submit the report and if found viable we can operate the service in another six months,” KSINC administrative officer Abdul Gafoor told Deccan Chronicle.
The current plan is to operate the “fast ferry boat” through the Cham-pakara Canal-Thevara-Mattancherry-Fort Kochi (via Venduruthy) and commuters can reach their destinations in a maximum time of half-an-hours.
“We’ll be operating speed boats so as to compete with the land and rail modes. Currently the KSRTC AC service covers the distance in 45 minutes. So we’re looking at less time to cover the distance,” says commercial officer V.K. Raju.
Earlier, KSINC had conducted ferry services to many destinations like Mulavukadu. But it withdrew from operating services after the opening of the Goshree Bridge.
Meanwhile, the mobility hub society has identified land to construct a boat jetty on its premises on the banks of the Champak-kara River.
“We’ve already identified the space. But the construction of the jetty will begin only if we receive final confirmation of the project,” MD Dr M. Beena said.
Currently, it takes nearly one-and-a half hours for passengers to travel from Fort Kochi to Vyttila on ordinary and private buses.