Cruise tourism to get a major boost with opening of Mumbai's new International Cruise Terminal

The international cruise terminal in Mumbai is now finally open with Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal flagging off the Cordelia Cruises ship on Monday afternoon.

The much awaited cruise terminal, located in South Mumbai's Ballard Pier area, is expected to give cruise tourism in India a boost.

The construction of the international cruise terminal (MICT) built by the Mumbai Port Authority cost Rs 556 crore. Private operators Ballard Pier Port and JM Baxi and Co will manage the day to day operations of the cruise terminal.

It is spread over 415,000 square feet and can handle around one million passengers annually or around 10,000 passengers a day. There will be 72 check-in and immigration counters over ground and first floors, while the top two floors are planned for commercial activities.

According to the Mumbai Port Trust, cruise tourism has picked up post COVID-19 with annual passengers footfall of around 2.5 lakh, and around 100 cruise ships calling every year both in the domestic and international segment.

The expectation is that there will be 900 cruise calls annually by 2030.

The objective of MICT, which has been years in the making, was to upgrade and modernise the existing infrastructure and transform the old 25,000 square feet terminal shed at Ballard Pier into India's largest cruise terminal.

"This terminal is a part of a broader vision of transforming the eastern waterfront of Mumbai," said Sushil Kumar Singh, chairperson of Mumbai Port Authority.

"This cruise terminal will position India on a global map as one of the leading cruise terminals of the world... Mumbai Port Authority is also working on developing a Marina near the Princess Dock. That again will be a big project which will be coming up very soon.

These new projects will transform the landscape and the whole land-sea interface of the city," said Singh.

The inauguration of MICT should give the Narendra Modi-led Union government's plans towards developing India's maritime sector a boost. In 2024, Minister Sonowal had launched the Cruise Bharat Mission.

The Mission is to be implemented in three phases, between 1 October 2024 up to 31 March 2029. The first phase focuses on conducting studies, master planning, and forming cruise alliances with neighbouring countries, apart from modernising existing cruise terminals, marinas, and destinations to enhance the potential of cruise circuits.

Phase 2 will concentrate on developing new cruise terminals, marinas, and destinations to activate high-potential cruise locations and circuits, and the final phase will focus on integrating all cruise circuits across the Indian Subcontinent.

Maritime