India to have 10,000 seaplanes soon: Gadkari

Clear water bodies dotted with 10,000 seaplanes, ‘floating cities’ in the form of ocean cruises and electric vehicles zipping on dedicated highway lanes — that’s the future as envisioned by the Road Transport, Highways & Shipping Minister, Nitin Gadkari (pictured).

“I have been talking about seaplanes. If it starts, in India we have the potential of starting 10,000 seaplanes. We have three to four lakh ponds in India, plenty of dams, 2,000 river ports, 200 small ports and 12 major ports. It will cost less,” Gadkari said.

The minister said he had asked his civil aviation counterpart, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, to explore a regulatory regime for singleengine seaplanes to facilitate their introduction in the country as early as possible.

“Seaplanes can land in one foot water and require only 300 metre runway. It has a huge potential and runs at a speed of 400 km per hour. Our ministry and the aviation ministry will finalise its rules and regulations soon. There are different rules in America, Canada, Japan. We will study their laws in three months,” Gadkari said.

The minister, along with Raju, had participated in a seaplane trial run of SpiceJet at Girgaum Chowpatty off the Mumbai coast on 9 December. SpiceJet plans to buy more than 100 amphibian aircraft at an estimated cost of $400 million.

Describing cruises as “floating cities”, Gadkari said that they have the potential to swell to more than 950 from about 90 at present. Cruises from India could go to Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. Massive efforts are underway to boost this segment, including a ~1,000-crore terminal, which is being built in Mumbai. A policy is also in the works.

Gadkari further said work would start on India’s much-awaited first pod taxi project after a panel recommended inviting fresh bids for the same, conforming to the strictest global safety standards.

“Seaplanes, cruises, waterways, electric vehicles, pod taxis, catamarans, expressways,” or the mammoth ~16 lakh crore Sagarmala and the ~7 lakh crore Bharatmala initiatives would change the face of India’s infrastructure, he claimed.

Another key thrust area would be to reduce crude imports of ~7 lakh crore by at least half and provide jobs to at least 50 lakh youth in related industries. “We are making efforts to overhaul transport. We are importing crude oil worth ~7 lakh crore. We have decided to bring cost-effective, import substitute, pollution free and indigenous fuel.”