Question : Cruise Service on Rivers

(a) whether the Government has recently introduced cruise service on Ganga river in Varanasi and other river beds and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government has engaged public and private sectors in this regard and if so, the details thereof;

(c) the details of river-circuits identified by the Government along with their promotion proposals;

(d) the present status of construction of new Cruise Terminals at various ports in the country including Kolkata; and

(e) the quantum of funds allocated, released and utilised for this purpose?

(a) Various private companies are operating cruise vessels on National Waterway – 1 (Ganga), National Waterway – 2 (Brahmaputra) and waterways in Kerala. M/s Nordic Cruise Line Service Pvt. Ltd. has launched cruise service in Varanasi in August, 2018.

(b) & (c) River cruise/tourism has been a regular feature on National Waterways-1 & 2 since last few years and Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) engages with private companies for development of river cruise tourism. Various companies namely M/s Heritage River Cruises India Pvt. Ltd., M/s. Vivada Inland Waterways, M/s. Assam Bengal navigation Co. and M/s. Nordic Cruise Line Service Pvt. Ltd. operate their cruise vessels on NW-1 and Sundarbans waterways. M/s. Assam Bengal Navigation Company, M/s Far Horizon Co. are operating cruise vessels on NW-2. River tourism on NW-3 is already popular among domestic and foreign tourists. During the winter months of October-March, several tourist vessels carrying foreign and domestic tourists are regularly plying between Kaziranga and Dhubri in Assam; Patna/Varanasi, Kolkata and Sunderbans on Ganga; and throughout the year in the backwaters of Kerala.

Under the MoU and SOP on Passenger and Cruise Service on the Coastal and Protocol routes signed between India and Bangladesh, private cruise operators of both the countries commenced cruise services in March – April, 2019.

(d) & (e) The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned projects for the development of Cruise Terminals and related infrastructure at the major ports as part of its schemes of assistance to central agencies. Details of the project status, amount sanctioned and released is at Annex.






Annex

PROJECTS SANCTIONED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CRUISE TERMINAL/UPGRADATION OF BERTH UNDER THE SCHEME OF ASSISTANCE TO CENTRAL AGENCIES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
(Rs. In Lakh)
<pre>
Sl. NO. STATE / YEAR NAME OF THE PROJECT SANCTIONED AMOUNT AMOUNT RELEASED STATUS
1 Tamil Nadu
2012-2013 Cruise Terminal Building at Chennai Port, Chennai 1724.66 1724.66 Completed
2 Kerala
2012-2013 Development of dedicated Cruise Berthing facilities at Cochin Port 2243.32
2138.92 Completed
3 Goa
2014-2015 Cruise Terminal building at Mormugao Port, Goa 879.04
767.187 Completed
4 Kerala
2016-2017 Upgradation of Berths and backup area of Ernakulam Wharf, Kerala 2141.00 1070.50 Work under progress
5 Kerala
2016-2017 Development of Walkway / Promenade on Willingdon Island, Cochin 901.00 720.30 Work in progress
6 Maharashtra
2016-2017 Development of KanojiAngre Lighthouse to Mumbai Port Trust 1500.00 1500.00 Completed
7 Maharashtra
2017-2018 Upgradation / modernization at International Cruise Terminal at Indira Dock, Mumbai 1250.00 1000.00 Work in progress
8 Goa
2018-2019 Improvement of Immigration facility and deepening of existing Cruise Berth at Mormugao Port, Goa 1316.40 658.20 Work in progress
9

Kerala
2018-2019 Developing infrastructure at Cochin Port Cruise Terminals 120.79 60.39 Work in progress
10 Kerala
2018-2019 Creation of additional Tourism Facility at the Cochin Port Trust 466.47 233.23 Work in progress
11 Andhra Pradesh
2018-2019 Construction of Cruise-cum-Coastal Cargo Terminal at Channel Berth area in outer harbour of Visakhapatnam Port 3850.00 1925.00 Work in progress
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