India's first Water Metro inaugurated in Kochi

Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala, on 23 July 2016 launched Kochi Water Metro project in Kochi, Kerala. It is the first ever Water Metro project in the country.

German Development Bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) is funding 85 million euro for the project. The German bank has inked an agreement with the Kochi Metro Rail Limited for the project worth 747 crore rupees.

Key highlights of the project
• The Water Metro will link various islands to the mainland.
• The metro network through inland waterways will provide last-mile connectivity to islanders and leisure travel to visitors.
• The Water Metro will provide Kochi with 78 modern boats.
• The boats will operate at an optimal speed of eight knots, with the potential to go up to 12 knots once the dedicated water transit corridor is established.
• It will also draw global attention to Kochi as a major port city.
• The Water Metro project involves purchase of two variants of air-conditioned and WiFi-enabled catamaran passenger ferries with a capacity of 50 and 100 passengers.