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GS Paper: GS3-13.Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc:

  • Let’s make the most of dirt-cheap oil

    For the first time in history, oil prices hovered in the negative territory recently. This article discusses how this opportunity can be utilised by India in various ways.

    Oil selling for negative price

    • In a dramatic and unprecedented turn of events on Monday, crude oil began trading in negative territory for the first time since records began.
    • The price on a futures contract for West Texas crude that was due to expire on 21 April crashed to minus $37.63 a barrel.
    • Covid effect: This is a direct result of the market mayhem caused by covid-19, which has resulted in lockdowns around the world, brought economies to a screeching halt, and crushed demand for transport fuel.
    • No space to store oil: Reports say there is so much unused oil in the US that there is no space left to store fresh supplies.
    • Storage costs money. Thus, oil producers had to pay to offload their stock.

    How did we get here?

    • Thanks to the covid-19 pandemic, multiple demand and supply shocks are wrecking economies across the globe and bringing economic activity to a standstill.
    • Assembly lines have halted, supply chains have snapped, commodity prices have fallen, the services sector has ground to a halt, financial markets are in a panic.
    • And the Great Lockdown has depressed various other economic variables and pushed the world into a deep recession.
    • Tensions among suppliers: The sudden fall in oil prices is tied not just to a demand crunch, but also tensions among the world’s major suppliers.
    • Relatively high prices over 2019 had allowed non-traditional players like US shale oil companies to thrive.
    • Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Russia, the most influential members of OPEC+, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that have allied with Russia on and off since 2016, had been in competition to expand their market share.
    • A flashpoint arose in early March, when Moscow refused to agree to OPEC’s desired production cuts to keep prices stable.
    • This prompted a price war with Riyadh, as both attempted to increase market share or put other competitors (particularly US shale) out of business.
    • Though a production cut has since been agreed to between Russia and Saudi Arabia, demand is estimated to have fallen far more than that.
    • Contracts for late 2020 are still going for only around $30 per barrel.
    • As a result, producers such as Kuwait, Oman, Nigeria, and Venezuela will continue to feel the strain.

    How can India maximise potential gains?

    • India imports nearly 80% of the oil it consumes, and so cheap oil is to be taken as an opportunity.
    • Under normal circumstances, such a drastic fall in oil prices would have a big positive effect on the finances of the Union government and the economy in general.
    • The current circumstances, however, are anything but normal.
    • So, India must use this low price opportunity in the following ways.

    The strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) assumes significance in India’s energy security whenever tension rises in the region from which we import our oil. Take note of the suggestion with respect to SPRs.

    Fill up the strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs)

    • The best way to turn this situation to India’s advantage, therefore, is to grab this chance to fill up the country’s strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs).
    • Like other large consumers, India holds oil inventories for the sake of energy security during a supply cut-off or some other emergency.
    • How much are our SPRs? Our SPRs are estimated at five days’ worth of oil imports, stored in underground salt caverns, and a further 65 days’ worth held by commercial refineries.
    • Current prices provide a perfect opportunity to bolster these reserves in preparation for future shocks.
    • The government-owned agency, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), should now be focused on filling up and utilizing the existing capacity of the country’s underground caverns.
    • In fact, it should be hardwired to consider filling these up each time the price of Brent crude falls below $40.
    • Separately, in the second phase of India’s SPR plans should be fast-tracked.
    • Working with private players: This involves working with private players to design, build, finance, operate, and transfer underground oil tanks.

    Negotiate long term contracts at current prices

    • Commercial refineries, many of which are public-sector enterprises, should strike and renegotiate long-term contracts with suppliers based on current prices.
    • Other firms reliant on oil and subject to the vagaries of oil prices, such as airline companies, should also do likewise.

    Geographically diversify the SPR holdings

    • This is also an opportune time for the Indian government to geographically diversify its SPR holdings.
    • To lower transport and storage costs, and to diversify risk, Oman or Fujairah in the UAE could be contracted to hold a quantity of oil on India’s behalf.
    • These reserves can be shipped to India when needed.
    • India should also operationalize, modernize and add to its oil tank facilities in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, which is partially owned by India.

    Conclusion

    The global energy landscape is likely to remain volatile in the near future and oil is likely to remain an important part of India’s energy needs. This is a good time to enhance the country’s energy security.

     

  • What explains crude oil prices falling below the $0 mark?

    Context

    • Recently US oil markets created history when prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the best quality of crude oil in the world, fell to “minus” $40.32 a barrel in New York.
    • Not only is this the lowest crude oil price ever known the previous lowest was immediately after World War II — but also well below the zero-mark.
    • At this price, the seller would be paying the buyer of crude oil $40 for each barrel that is bought.

    Crude oil price dynamics are undergoing dramatic changes this year. The ongoing pandemic has worsened the situation further. India has ample  opportunities to get benefited from the ongoing situation.

    But how can that be? How did prices fall below zero in the first place? Let us see:

    Global fall in crude oil prices

    • The first thing to understand is that, even before the Covid-19 induced global lockdown, crude oil prices had been falling over the past few months.
    • The reason was straightforward. The price of a commodity falls when supply is more than demand.
    • The global oil pricing is by no stretch an example of a well-functioning competitive market. In fact, it’s seamless operations crucially depend on oil exporters acting in consort.

    OPEC+ failure (earlier)

    • Historically, the OPEC, lead by Saudi Arabia, which is the largest exporter of crude oil in the world (single-handedly exporting 10% of the global demand), used to work as a cartel and fix prices in a favourable band.
    • It could bring down prices by increasing oil production and raise prices by cutting production.
    • In the recent past, the OPEC has been working with Russia, as OPEC+, to fix the global prices and supply.
    • This happy accord came to an end as Saudi Arabia and Russia disagreed over the production cuts required to keep prices stable.
    • As a result, OPEC undercutting each other on price while continuing to produce the same quantities of oil.

    What it costs to a country for cutting production

    • The production cut was made worse with the growing spread of Coronavirus, which, in turn, was sharply reducing economic activity and the demand for oil.
    • It must be understood that cutting production or completely shutting down an oil well is a difficult decision because restarting it is both costly and cumbersome.
    • Moreover, if one country cuts production, it risks losing market share if others do not follow suit.

    Demand-supply mismatch got worse

    • By the time the Saudi Arabia and Russia discord was sorted out last week, under pressure from US President, it was possibly too late.
    • Oil-exporting countries decided to cut production by 6 million barrels a day — the highest production cuts — and yet the demand for oil was shrinking by 9 to 10 million barrels a day.
    • This meant that the supply-demand mismatch continued to worsen right through March and April.
    • According to reports, all possible the mismatch resulted in almost all storage capacity being exhausted.

    What led to negative oil prices: Immediate causes

    • The contracts fir this month for WTI, the American crude oil variant, was due to expire. As the deadline came near, prices started plummeting. This was for two broad reasons.
    • There were many oil producers who wanted to get rid of their oil even at unbelievably low prices instead of choosing the other option shutting production.
    • The space to store the oil too got exhausted. Trains and ships, which were typically used to transport oil, too, were used up just for storing oil.
    • They figured that it would be more costly for them to accept the oil delivery, pay for its transportation and then pay for storing it, especially when there is no storage available than to simply take a hit on the contract price.

    Future prospects

    • It is important to note that it was the WTI price for May in the US markets that went so low.
    • Crude Oil prices elsewhere fell but by not so much. Moreover, at least for now, oil prices are pegged at around $20 a barrel.
    • It is likely that this was a one-off event and will not happen as producers are forced to cut back production further.
    • But one cannot rule out such a repeat, with COVID-19 continuing to spread, demand is falling every day.
    • In the end, it would be the demand-supply mismatch (adjusted for how much can be stored away) that will decide the fate of oil prices.

  • [pib] Draft Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020

    The Ministry of Power has issued a draft proposal for amendment of Electricity Act, 2003 in the form of the draft Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

    Draft Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill 2020

    Major amendments proposed in the Electricity Act are as follows:

    Viability of DISCOMs

    • Cost reflective Tariff: To eliminate the tendency of some Commissions to provide for regulatory assets, it is being provided that the Commissions shall determine tariffs that are reflective of  cost so as to enable Discoms to recover their costs.
    • Direct Benefit Transfer: It is proposed that tariff be determined by Commissions without taking into account the subsidy, which will be given directly by the government to the consumers.

    Sanctity of Contracts

    • Establishment of Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority:  Such an authority headed by a retired Judge of the High Court is proposed to be set-up with powers of the Civil Court to enforce performance of contracts related to purchasing or sale or transmission of power between a generating, distribution or transmission companies.
    • Establishment of adequate Payment Security Mechanism for scheduling of electricity: It is proposed to empower Load Dispatch Centres to oversee the establishment of adequate payment security mechanism before scheduling dispatch of electricity, as per contracts.

    Strengthening the regulatory regime

    • Strengthening of the Appellate Tribunal (APTEL): It proposed to increase the strength of APTEL to seven apart from the Chairperson so that multiple benches can be set-up to facilitate quick disposal of cases.
    • Doing away with multiple Selection Committees: It is proposed to have one Selection Committee for selection of Chairpersons and Members of the Central and State Commissions and uniform qualifications for appointments of Chairperson and Members.
    • Penalties: In order to ensure compliance of the provisions of the Electricity Act and orders of the Commission, section 142 and section 146 of the Electricity Act are proposed to be amended to provide for higher penalties.

    Renewable and Hydro Energy

    • National Renewable Energy Policy: It is proposed to provide for a policy document for the development and promotion of generation of electricity from renewable sources of energy. It is also proposed that a minimum percentage of purchase of electricity from hydro sources of energy is to be specified by the Commissions.
    • Penalties: It is being further proposed to levy penalties for non-fulfilment of obligation to buy electricity from renewable and/or hydro sources of energy.

    Miscellaneous

    • Cross border trade in Electricity: Provisions have been added to facilitate and develop trade in electricity with other countries.
    • Franchisees and Distribution sub licensees: It is proposed to provide that the Distribution Companies, if they so desire, may engage Franchisees or Sub-Distribution Licensees to distribute electricity on its behalf in a particular area within its area of supply. However, it will be the DISCOM which shall be the licensee, and therefore, ultimately responsible for ensuring quality distribution of electricity in its area of supply.

  • [pib] “DekhoApnaDesh” Webinar

    The Ministry of Tourism has launched its “DekhoApnaDesh” webinar series to provide information on the many destinations and the sheer depth and expanse of the culture and heritage of India.

    Tourism and tourist sites carry a high incidence of possible prelims questions.  Take time to quickly revise the Swadesh Darshan , PRASHAD Schemes.   Click here for the repository of all such initiaitives.

    About DekhoApnaDesh

    • Under this, a series of webinars will showcase the diverse and remarkable history and culture of India through a documentary series on various cities.
    • It will be including various monuments, cuisine, arts, dance forms, natural landscapes, festivals and many other aspects of the rich Indian civilization.
    • The core of the webinar is based on tourism awareness and social history.
    • The webinar will be available in the public domain through the Ministry’s social media handles- “Incredible India” on Instagram and Facebook.
    • The first webinar, which was part of a series that shall unfold, touched upon the long history of Delhi as it has unfolded as 8 cities.

  • Oil in a post-Covid world

    Context

    In the post-COVID world, India will, once again, confront the challenge of oil and gas supply security. We should, therefore, ask: What will be the landscape of the petroleum sector, post-COVID? And what should India do now to prepare for an uncertain and contingent energy future?

    Oil war and the death knell of OPEC

    • The concept of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) deterred the nuclear powers during the Cold War. It has had no such effect on the oil powers.
    • Implications of the decision of Saudi Arabia and Russia: At a time when the virus had pushed the global economy into recession, Russia and Saudi Arabia took a set of decisions last month that knocked the economic props from under the oil market.
    • What were the reasons behind the decisions: The Saudis decided to flood the market to hold onto market share and the Russians accepted the consequent decline in prices to push the US shale industry to the wall.
    • Future of OPEC: Both may achieve their objectives but they have sounded the death knell of OPEC and possibly that of the oil industry as well.

    Two reasons for the decline in the oil prices

    • Today, the price of oil, at just above $30/bbl , is at its lowest in a decade, and volatile downwards. The average price in 2019 was $64/bbl.
    • The reason is two-fold.
    • One, the Saudis have ramped up production from 9.8mbd (before the March meeting) to in excess of 12 mbd today.
    • Two, there has been an unprecedented COVID-induced crash in demand. This is because of the lockdown of the two main drivers of oil consumption — transportation and industry.
    • It is estimated that oil consumption in the current quarter will fall by approximately 25 mbd.
    • This is almost as much as OPEC’s production.
    • The Saudis and Russia may still come to an understanding that rallies the price.
    • There will be three major implications for the oil-producing countries.

    1. Budgetary crisis

    • Every major oil-exporting country will face a budgetary crisis.
    • Qatar has the most robust balance sheet of all OPEC members. But it still needs an oil price of around $40/bbl to balance its books.
    • Algeria has the weakest. It needs an excess of $100/bbl.
    • Saudi Arabia is at the Algerian end of the spectrum requiring a price of around $80/bbl.
    • Abundant foreign reserves: This does not mean these countries are about to go financially belly up. Most of them, the Gulf producers, in particular, have abundant sovereign reserves.
    • But what it does mean is they will be hard-pressed to sustain their social and economic commitments.
    • They will have to cut back on subsidies, raise taxes and the citizens will be required to tighten their belts.
    • What India should do? India should build into its oil supply plans with the likelihood of civil strife in these countries.

    2. Reconfiguration of the oil industry will take place

    • Already, at current prices, a large number of companies are finding it difficult to cover their cash costs and have been forced to cut production and shutter operations.
    • At even lower prices, they will become bankrupt.
    • Whatever the final outcome, one fact is clear. Those that survive the carnage will have substantially slimmed balance sheets and reduced valuations.
    • Exxon’s market capitalisation has, for instance, halved over the past month.
    • Implication for India: Against this backdrop, we should drop the expectation of international interest in BPCL. Or for that matter ME investment into India.
    • Ratnagiri refinery: The $40-billion Ratnagiri refinery project by Saudi Aramco and UAE will certainly not see the light of day.
    • We should also expect a drop in the intensity of domestic exploration.

    3. Behavioural changes and uncertainties

    • The world, post-COVID will be different from the world pre-COVID. Behaviours will shift and these will deepen uncertainties.
    • “Social distancing” may change the dynamics of “shared mobility”.
    • Teleporting may reduce business travel.
    • Heightened awareness of the porosity of national boundaries may accelerate the push towards decarbonisation? These uncertainties will push the petroleum market deeper into no man’s land.

    Way forward for India

    • Whatever be the shape of the post- COVID international petroleum market, India will be dependent on it to secure its domestic energy requirement. The question should, therefore, be asked. What should the decision-makers do today to respond to such a contingent and uncertain future?
    • 1. Increase the strategic reserves: It should fill the oil caverns with strategic reserves. Prices may fall further but rather than bottom fish, it should leverage the availability of capacity to secure discounted supplies.
    • The world has run out of storage capacity and producers may pay premium dollar to find space for their unsold cargoes.
    • 2. Reduce the dependency and risk: India should increase its imports of gas (LNG ) from Australia, Africa and the US.
    • This will reduce the political risks of dependency on oil supplies from the Middle East.
    • Gas is also now economically competitive. The landed price of LNG is low enough to kick-start some of the stranded gas-based power plants.
    • 3. Increase operational efficiency of oil companies: It should unthread the “patchwork quilt of authority” exercised by bureaucrats, regulators and politicians, which today stifles management and operational efficiency of the petroleum companies.
    • 4. Integrated energy policy: India should create an institutional basis for an integrated energy policy. If there is one message we must internalise from COVID, it is the importance of collaboration and coordination.

  • Explained: 9 minutes light-out and its impact on grids

    In his address to the nation, our PM has urged people across to turn off the lights in their homes for 9 minutes on April 5, starting at 9 pm. In response to this appeal, grid managers across states have flagged some risks.

    Why is the 9-minute exercise a problem?

    • India is one of the largest synchronous interconnected grids in the world, with an installed capacity of about 370 GW (3,70,000 MW), and a normal baseload power demand of roughly 150 GW.
    • The big worry is that just before 9 pm there may be unprecedented load reduction, followed by a sudden increase in load post at 9.09 pm.
    • The concern is that grid frequency should not swing beyond permissible limits and that all generators across the country must give frequency response as per the Grid Code.
    • During this 9-minute lights out exercise, up to 10,000-15,000 MW of power demand could to drop suddenly and then come on stream a few minutes later.

    How does grid function normally?

    • Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO), the national electricity grid operator, projects daily demand for power and regulates supply from power generators based on these projections.
    • Frequency reflects the load generation balance in the grid at a particular instant and is one of the most important parameters for assessment of the security of the country’s power system.
    • The nominal frequency is 50 hertz and POSOCO endeavours to maintain frequency within a permissible band (49.9- 50.5 hertz), primarily by balancing the demand-supply equation.

    Impacts of light-out

    • The frequency needs to be maintained within this range as all the electrical equipment and appliances at our homes are designed to perform safely and efficiently in a certain power supply band.
    • An increase in frequency results in an increase in the voltage and a decrease in frequency results in a decrease in voltage.
    • Exigency does occur during an outage at a power plant or the tripping of a transmission line or a sudden change in electrical demand.
    • The grid operator needs to ensure that there is an automatic corrective response manually by curtailing demand or ramping generation from another source within a really short period of time.
    • Handling imbalances are the most crucial function of the grid operator.

    What are the key areas of concern?

    While the possibility of the grid tripping on account of this is highly unlikely, operators expect a “jerk”. While the system is generally planned for an outage of the single largest unit outage, there are two riders:

    1) Lockdown has severed domestic consumption

    • One, the grid load is primarily on account of the domestic load now, especially since the lockdown implemented.
    • The normal baseload power demand of roughly 150 gigawatts has already dropped by 20 per cent since the lockdown announcement as most of the industry and commercial establishments are not operational.
    • With hotels and factories, malls, railway stations, airports closed, the domestic load is the predominant load.
    • So the lighting load as a percentage of total loads is much higher now and the impact of a sudden drop in lighting load could be more accentuated than during regular times.

    2) Fear of complete power-offs

    • The second concern is if housing clusters and societies switch off mains, or if overzealous discoms switch off street lighting or even feeders to show compliance.
    • During this part of the year, domestic load peaks at about 9 pm.
    • This load could then be impacted much more than what’s being anticipated in the normal course, a concern that grid operators are flagging.

    Why is this demand of significance in such a big grid?

    • The domestic load is about 30-32 per cent of total load during normal times.
    • Of India’s total electricity demand load pattern, industrial and agricultural consumption accounts for 40 per cent and 20 per cent load, while commercial electricity consumption accounts for 8 per cent of demand.
    • So, theoretically, if only lighting load goes off, it should not have a major impact on grid frequency during normal times.

  • Govt. has raised excise duty cap on fuel

    In a move which would help the government to raise excise duty on fuel further in future, the government has raised the cap on special additional excise duty on petrol and diesel. These changes are as per the amendments in the Finance Bill passed in the Parliament.

    Why such move?

    • Government is increasing duties on petrol and diesel to raise revenues in view of a tight fiscal situation.
    • Slump in global crude oil prices, alongside possibility of a global economic recession, has forced the government to look for avenues to raise revenues to support growth.
    • With major companies going for production shut downs, industry players have suggested the government to boost fiscal stimulus in the wake of demand collapse triggered by the coronavirus.
    • Earlier, Saudi Arabia had triggered the crash in prices by announcing a sharp increase in oil production after Russia declined to reduce oil supply to contain a fall in oil prices due to declining demand in a meeting of petroleum exporting countries.

    Impact of the move

    • Every rupee hike in excise duty is expected to yield roughly Rs 13,000-14,000 crore annually.
    • The slump in global crude oil prices enables the government to raise these duties substantially without immediately putting the burden on the consumer.
    • But there is expected to be a demand slowdown for fuels with a nearly country wide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus.
    • With airlines, railways, trucks and passenger cars going off the roads, petrol, diesel and ATF (aviation turbine fuel) consumption is expected to fall drastically.

    Back2Basics

    What is Excise Duty?

    • Excise duty is a form of tax imposed on goods for their production, licensing and sale.
    • It is the opposite of Customs duty in sense that it applies to goods manufactured domestically in the country, while Customs is levied on those coming from outside of the country.
    • At the central level, excise duty earlier used to be levied as Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duty, etc.
    • Excise duty was levied on manufactured goods and levied at the time of removal of goods, while GST is levied on the supply of goods and services.

    Purview of excise duty

    • The GST introduction in July 2017 subsumed many types of excise duty.
    • Today, excise duty applies only on petroleum and liquor.
    • Alcohol does not come under the purview of GST as exclusion mandated by constitutional provision.
    • States levy taxes on alcohol according to the same practice as was prevalent before the rollout of GST.
    • After GST was introduced, excise duty was replaced by central GST because excise was levied by the central government. The revenue generated from CGST goes to the central government.

    Types of excise duty in India

    Before GST kicked in, there were three kinds of excise duties in India.

    Basic Excise Duty

    • Basic excise duty is also known as the Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT). This category of excise duty was levied on goods that were classified under the first schedule of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.
    • This duty was levied under Section 3 (1) (a) of the Central Excise Act, 1944. This duty applied on all goods except salt.

    Additional Excise Duty

    • Additional excise duty was levied on goods of high importance, under the Additional Excise under Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957.
    • This duty was levied on some special category of goods.

    Special Excise Duty

    • This type of excise duty was levied on special goods classified under the Second Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.
    • Presently the central excise duty comprises of a Basic Excise Duty, Special Additional Excise Duty and Additional Excise Duty (Road and Infrastructure Cess) on auto fuels.

  • [pib] Flexi Fare System

    During the eight months period from 1st July 2019 to 29th February 2020, approximately 28.93 Lakh berths remained vacant in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto type trains having Flexi fare.

    What is Flexi Fare System?

    • The flexi-fare scheme was introduced by the IRCTC in 2016 for the 142 “premium trains” such as Shatabdi, Rajdhani, and Duronto (now Vande Bharat Exp. as well).
    • Under this dynamic pricing system, the base fare increases by 10% with every 10% of berths sold, with a limit set at 1.5 times the original price.
    • The scheme was applicable to all classes, except AC first class and executive class. The pricing system is still in force.

    Reasons for flexi fares:

    1. Indian Railways run about 12900 passenger trains per day and the railways is losing around more than 40% of what they spend on passenger trains.
    2. The trains like Rajdhani are the ones in which the elite class prefers to travel. So, some revenue can be garnered from them.
    3. The cost of service is almost double of what is being charged from the passengers.
    4. Freight business is already very expensive in India as compared to other countries in the world. Therefore, a further increase in this area is not feasible.

    Issues with the system

    • After the introduction of Flexi-fares, the railways lost 700,000 passengers in just 11 months while the additional revenue earned as a result of the scheme was ₹ 552 crore.
    • While drawing upon the fundamentals of dynamic pricing, what Indian Railways failed to introduce was a simple principle that Flexi-fares work ways, hikes, and declines.
    • The railways model just focused on increasing fares with no provision for a decrease in price when demand is low.
    • While half of the decision-makers in the Railway Board support it, half of them oppose it stating that what the railways require is an increase in ticket prices across the board.

  • Danube-Oder-Elbe Canal

     

    Environmental organisations from across central and Eastern Europe have criticised a major project intending to link three rivers and provide seamless navigation between three of Europe’s peripheral seas, according to a statement.

    Danube-Oder-Elbe Canal

    • For centuries Europe’s rulers have dreamed of construction of a huge Y-shaped canal connecting the Elbe, Oder and Danube rivers, most of which would be on Czech territory.
    • The Canal intends to connect the Danube, Oder and Elbe rivers and thus provide another navigable link from the Black Sea to the North and Baltic Seas.
    • The Main-Danube Canal already provided a navigable connection between the Black Sea and the North Sea.
    • Several hundred kilometres of artificial waterways would have to be built for the canal, according to the statement.
    • Critics have called on the European Commission to ensure that the project be excluded from EU funding, and not be included as part of the Trans-European Transport Network.

  • Ro-Pax Ferry Service

     

    Mumbai – the first metropolitan city in India has introduced Ro-Pax service to its transport infrastructure. M2M1 Ferry Vessel has commenced operations between Mumbai and Mandwa.

    Ro-Pax Ferry

    • Ro-Pax Ferry is a ferry that combines the features of a cruise ship and a roll-on/roll-off service.
    • This service has brought much to the relief of daily commuters, job seekers and holiday-goers travelling between Mumbai and Mandwa and also other parts of Alibaug.
    • Ro-Pax service enables people to ferry along with their vehicles on board, between Mumbai and Mandwa.
    • With this, Mumbai, Alibaug and the adjoining Konkan region will experience a boost in tourism, hinterland connectivity and also job opportunities.