India Opens Largest Cruise Hub, ₹5,700 Cr MoUs Signed

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off cruise operations from the newly inaugurated Mumbai International Cruise Terminal, India's largest developed under the Cruise Bharat Mission. Designed to handle one million passengers annually, the terminal marks a significant step toward making India a global cruise hub. Sonowal also launched infrastructure projects worth over Rs 5700 crore at Vadhavan Port.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off cruise operations on Monday from the Mumbai International cruise terminal, India's largest cruise terminal. The MCT, developed per the cruise Bharat Mission, was designed to meet the latest global standards and is expected to take a pioneering role in developing cruise tourism in India, according to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

"It is only logical that we work towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Bharat becoming a global cruise hub through its state-of-the-art infrastructure. Today, Mumbai, with its longstanding repute as a central maritime hub in the world, commenced cruise Operations from the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal, providing passengers with modern amenities for a better and safer experience," Union Minister Sonowal said on the occasion.

The MICT is developed at Ballard Pier and is spread over a built-up area of more than 415,000 square feet. It is equipped with 72 check-in and immigration counters on the first two floors, which cover an area of 207,000 square feet, while the other two floors are developed as commercial floors.

The newly inaugurated MICT is designed to handle 1 million passengers annually, with approximately 10,000 passengers per day. It can also hold five ships simultaneously with an 11-meter draft up to 300 meters long. More than 300 vehicles can be parked simultaneously in the parking space.

The Union Minister also inaugurated the renowned Fire Memorial at Victoria Docks and renovated two heritage buildings, Fort House at Ballard Estate and Evelyn House at Colaba. Sonowal also inaugurated the Sagar Upvan Garden and Shore-to-Ship Electric Supply under the Green Port Initiative. The minister also attended the Mou signing ceremony for the development of infrastructure projects with an investment worth more than INR 5700 crore at Vadhavan Port.

The agreement was signed for the development of a terminal for handling container, bulk, and liquid cargo with an investment of INR 4200 crore, the development of a dedicated terminal for handling bulk and liquid cargo with an investment of INR 1000 crore and the development of a liquid cargo jetty and a tank farm with a capacity of 300000 CBM for handling liquified chemicals and related products with an investment of INR 500 crore.

The Cruise Bharat Mission has set ambitious yet achievable goals like the development of 10 international sea cruise terminals, the creation of 100 river cruise terminals, the launch of 5 marinas along our coast, seamless integration of more than 5000 km of waterways, 1 million sea cruise passengers, and 1.5 million river cruise passengers.se passengers by 2029 while creating over 400000 direct and indirect jobs across the cruise value chain.

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