Nerul jetty lies defunct; experts blame poor planning

The City and Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO) ₹110-crore jetty in Nerul, built specifically for large roll-on roll-off (RO-RO) ferries between Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Mandwa, has remained unused even two years after its construction was completed in December 2021

Mumbai: The City and Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO) ₹110-crore jetty in Nerul, built specifically for large roll-on roll-off (RO-RO) ferries between Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Mandwa, has remained unused even two years after its construction was completed in December 2021.

Navi Mumbai, India - April 28, 2023: Nerul Jetty at Seawoods, in Navi Mumbai, India, on Friday, April 28, 2023. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

The jetty lies to the east of the NRI Complex and can be accessed via the northern end of Palm Beach Road.

Though CIDCO has remained silent on the prolonged delay in commissioning this water terminal, experts have blamed the project’s failure to launch on poor engineering and site selection, saying that it is currently impossible for large vessels to approach the dock as the navigation route is too shallow, even during high tide.

According to a senior executive, who works in the marine exploration arm of a leading Indian conglomerate and a resident of Belapur, “There has to have some major oversight in the planning stage itself. The maximum draft available in the navigation channel in the creek is about 3.5 metres during high tide and even less during low tide. This is simply not enough for a large RO-RO boat of the kind that operates between Bhaucha Dhakka and Mandwa. These boats require a draft of at least 5 metres. Until this very fundamental issue is resolved, it will not be a viable project.”

The Nerul jetty, along with another at Belapur—on the other side of the Uran Bridge over Panvel Creek—was developed as part of a proposed water transport system to ease traffic congestion on roads connecting Navi Mumbai to Vashi and Mumbai, which many citizens are now labelling as superfluous, given that the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) is set to open next year.

The Nerul jetty was built at nearly 10 times the cost of the Belapur terminal, which had a budget of ₹10 crore. It had also been planned to start a RO-RO service from Nerul to Goa, which would allow passengers to carry their vehicles.

A former submariner with the Indian Navy, who lives in Navi Mumbai and is familiar with the maritime landscape in the area, said, “The navigational channel will have to be dredged to create adequate space for large vessels, which takes time, and is a very capital-intensive process. A more suitable site could have been selected to cater to RO-RO vessels. CIDCO can try to operate smaller passenger ferries from Nerul, but as we have seen very recently in the case of the Belapur terminal, there is simply not enough demand for this kind of service.”

Citizens have also questioned whether a RO-RO ferry between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai is necessary in the first place, especially with the MTHL promising to cut down travel time between the two cities to just 20 minutes. “Once this route opens, which car owner will want to spend ₹800 to ₹1,000 on a water taxi? This is a classic case of poor planning. CIDCO’s ‘build first, plan later’ approach has only led to a wastage of public funds,” Sunil Agarwal, Navi Mumbai-based environmentalist, said.

A spokesperson for CIDCO did not respond to multiple requests for comment by Hindustan Times, which included specific questions regarding the navigability of the channel near Nerul jetty.