GRSE awarded LoA by WB govt for constructing 13 hybrid ferries Official

Kolkata, Oct 4 (PTI) Warship-maker Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, which is diversifying into passenger vessel sector, was on Friday awarded a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) by the West Bengal government for delivering 13 hybrid ferries, an official said.
    The vessels, to be operated by the West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (WBTIDCL) on River Hooghly, will have catamaran hull design and will be built with aluminium and fiber reinforced polymer.
    The award of the LoA, a legal document that allows one party to accept the terms and conditions of the offer by another, is for 13 ferries at an approximate cost of Rs 226.18 crore, excluding GST, the GRSE official said.
    The Defence PSU had, on an assignment by the West Bengal government, earlier successfully designed and constructed a prototype for a next-generation zero-emission ferry, which was launched in January this year.
    The official said that six of the ferries will have twin decks with a capacity of 200 passengers each, while the rest seven will have single decks with a capacity of 100 passengers.
    According to the LoA, the hybrid ferries will carry passengers in all-weather conditions on River Hooghly, which is part of National Waterway 1, the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River System in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, stretching from Triveni in the north to Diamond Harbour in the south, the GRSE official said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)