Sagarmala Development Company to float SPV for seaplane project.

Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to initiate Seaplane services on select routes through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) involving airline operators.

The project execution and implementation will be through Sagarmala Development Company Ltd (SDCL), which is under the administrative control of the Ministry, said a release.

Several destinations are envisaged for seaplane operations. The proposed origin-destination pairs under hub-and-spoke model include various islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, Guwahati Riverfront and Umranso Reservoir in Assam, Yamuna Riverfront / Delhi (as Hub) to Ayodhaya, Tehri, Srinagar (Uttarakhand), Chandigarh and other tourist places of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh; Mumbai (as Hub) to Shirdi, Lonavala, Ganpatipule; Surat (as Hub) to Dwarka, Mandvi and Kandla; Khindsi Dam, Nagpur and Erai Dam, Chandrapur (in Maharashtra) and/or any other hub and spoke suggested by the operator, it added.

One such Seaplane Service is already in operation between Kevadia and Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.

To run more such services in the coastal areas or proximity to water bodies, SDCL is keen to associate with the interested scheduled/non-scheduled airline operators. The joint development and operation of “Sagarmala Seaplane Services (SSPS)” will be undertaken by forming a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with SDCL, added the release.

HBL