Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd on November 19 signed a contract with the transport department of the West Bengal government for 13 hybrid ferries, an official said.
The ferries will be operated on River Hooghly by the West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (WBTIDCL).
The vessels will be built with aluminum and fiber-reinforced polymer, the GRSE official said, adding that the hybrid electric propulsion systems will be powered by batteries as well as diesel generators.
GRSE had earlier been assigned by the West Bengal government to design a prototype for a modern zero-emission ferry. It was successfully launched in January and technically accepted in March.
Of the 13 ferries for which the contract was signed, six will have twin decks with a capacity of 200 passengers each. The estimated cost of these six vessels is Rs 126 crore, the GRSE official said in a statement.
The remaining seven vessels will have a single deck with a capacity of 100 passengers each, and are expected to cost nearly Rs 100 crore.
The hybrid ferries will carry passengers in all-weather conditions on River Hooghly in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), stretching from Triveni in the north to Diamond Harbour in the south, he said.
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