The expected commissioning of the entire fleet of 23 electric-hybrid, 100-passenger ferries in the first phase of the Kochi Water Metro project is likely to overshoot the revised deadline of December, reportedly due to delays in procuring components from abroad.
The inordinate delay in constructing 38 terminals in the mainland and 10 isles that the ferries were to call at — for what Kochi Water Metro Limited (KWML) termed as slow pace of work by a contracting firm — has made matters worse. Besides, a contracting firm had recently filed a police complaint against a sub-contractor regarding alleged inferior quality of materials for the critical Fort Kochi terminal.
Ever since the project’s launch in April, a total of one million commuters had travelled in the 12 ferries that are operating on three routes.
