PANAJI
After repeated delays, the Roll-on-Roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferry service between Ribandar and Chorao is expected to begin operations in the first week of July. The service, equipped with high-speed technology, is designed to ease traffic by replacing six traditional ferry boats with just two large Ro-Ro ferries.
River Navigation Minister Subhash Phal Dessai had in May promised that the service would be operational within a month, setting the tentative deadline as June 7. However, there was another delay.
RND Director Vikramsingh Raje Bhosale confirmed the new timeline and also revealed plans for a second Ro-Ro route.
“The Ribandar-Chorao route will begin operations by the first week of July,” Bhosale said, adding, “We are also exploring the possibility of introducing two smaller Ro-Ro boats on a proposed new route between Divar and Sao Pedro... it is likely to be in place by April next year.”
The larger Ro-Ro ferries, built in Goa, are designed with a significantly higher capacity compared to conventional ferries. Each ferry can carry 12 to 14 four-wheelers along with up to 150 passengers.
“The two Ro-Ro ferries can handle the load equivalent to six traditional ferry boats operating at a time on just one busy route,” the minister had said.
The project had faced several setbacks. To accommodate the larger ferries, the Ribandar ferry ramp was widened from nine meters to 26 meters. A 17-mt extension was added to the ramp under the ‘Widening of Ribandar Ferry Ramp’ initiative undertaken by Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd in coordination with the River Navigation Department and the Captain of Ports. After this expansion, a trial run of the Ro-Ro ferry was conducted in the River Zuari.
Meanwhile, Goa’s earlier experiment with a hybrid solar-powered ferry, introduced in 2022, will be back. The State’s first electric-cum-solar ferry, procured for Rs 4 crore, operated briefly on the Panaji-Chorao route was scrapped last year as it remained underutilized and inability to accommodate two and four-wheelers. The project was revived with the fresh tender scheduled to open this week.
