Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Ro-pax ferry services between Hazira near Surat and Ghogha in Bhavnagar district, through video conferencing. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani also attended the event. This ferry service will reduce the distance between Bhavnagar and Surat from 375 km (by road) to just 90 kilometres (by sea route), Modi said while flagging off the service. It will save time and fuel and boost eco and religious tourism in the Saurashtra region of the state, as per reports. The three-deck Ro-Pax Ferry Vessel ‘Voyage Symphony’ connecting Hazira in Surat district of south Gujarat and Ghogha in Saurashtra’s Bhavnagar has a load capacity of 30 trucks, 100 passenger cars, and 500 passengers plus 34 crew and hospitality staff, The Ro-Pax terminal is 100 metre long and 40 metre wide costing approximately Rs 25 crore, added reports.
With the inauguration of the Ro-pax ferry, the time taken to reach Saurashtra will be just four hours. The ferry service will make three round trips per day on the Hazira-Ghogha route, is projected to annually transport about 5 lakh passengers, 80,000 passenger vehicles, 50,000 two-wheelers and 30,000 trucks.