Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa’s first electric-cum-solar boat is most likely to be commissioned in December, after a wait of couple of months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The boat is being built by Aquarius Shipyard at Divar for the River Navigation Department (RND).
An official said that the delay in readying and commissioning of the boat was due to COVD-19 pandemic that halted the work. “There has been a slight delay but nevertheless, we are expected to commission the boat to be used for passengers next month,” an official said.
While earlier the government planned to revive the Panjim-Aldona route, it could now make use of the boat on Panjim-Ribandar route. However, no final decision has been taken. The authorities, sources said, could also use the boat for sightseeing or evening river cruise along the Mandovi and Zuari Rivers.
The hybrid boat will have an operational speed of 60 knots and will be able to carry 60 passengers at a time.
It is learnt that each solar-powered vessel costs around Rs 4 crore to built; the RND will not immediately replaced the existing fleet of conventional diesel-powered ferry boats playing across over a dozen-and-half inland water routes.
In November 2017, then RND Minister Sudiin Dhavalikar had said that the Portuguese-era ferry boats will give way to solar energy-backed vessels by June 2018 and that a proposal for the new ferry boats will be ready in the next six months while constructing them would take another six months.
The RND officials had visited Kochi in Kerala in 2017 where such solar-powered ferry boats are in use. The government was however not in favour of charging the passengers as is the rule in Kerala.
