Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority has granted approval to Mormugao Port Trust for construction of an ultramodern cruise terminal building, which is expected to be completed by December 2016.
GCZMA, in its meeting earlier this month, granted approval for the project under Coastal Regulation Zone notification 2011 stating that the proposed project site is under CRZ II area and within port limits. The proposal states that MPT wants to construct a terminal building for use of passengers to board and alight.
The approval has been granted following a site inspection undertaken by GCZMA expert member Dr Antonio Mascarenhas, who observed that the site is located close to the water line; about 10m from the high tide line and that MPT is the owner of the plot.
“However, the proposed building does not match with the plinth of the earlier structure. The old structure dimensions are 10m x 20m, whereas the proposed building is 30 m long, and closer to the HTL by 5 m. The total height of the building is 16m,” the inspection report reads.
The proposed state-of-the art cruise terminal estimated to cost of Rs 8.79 crore is expected to give a further boost to luxury cruise shipping. In the financial year 2014-15, MPT hosted 26 high-end luxury cruise ships carrying 21,084 tourists. This is a 44 percent increase in cruise traffic as compared to 18 cruise ships in 2013-14.
MPT, whose major source of revenue comes from handling of iron ore exports, is looking to diversify in terms of exports and vessel handling, particularly as its revenue from mining has fallen drastically.
