Floating restaurant off Gateway of India soon?

Seven years after the proposal was first mooted, the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has revived plans for a floating restaurant off the Gateway of India at Appollo Bunder, Colaba. [caption id=“attachment_158042” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Gateway of India[/caption] In 2007, the Mumbai Port Trust had received a proposal from a promoter, Shubh Hospitality, in collaboration with American theme hotel and restaurant chain Planet Hollywood, in which stars including Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore own stakes. to set up a floating restaurant off Gateway of India. According to that proposal, the floating restaurant was to be set up on board a ship or yacht, envisaged as five decks of food, drinks and entertainment, with a capacity of 400 persons. The restaurant was to function for eight months in the year,  excluding Mumbai’s monsoon months. However, the plan did not take off with some trustees of the port trust raising queries and seeking clarifications regarding  various aspects of the project. The MbPT has now revived the proposal and plans to set up a ‘floating hotel’. “We are in the process of floating an expression of interest seeking response from companies. While we already have a plan for the floating hotel, we want to find out what extent of interest companies have in running it,” Rajeev Gupta, chairman of Mumbai Port Trust, told Firstpost. Gupta added that the expression of interest will be floated soon after finalizing a couple of things including a revenue model. “The move is aimed at generating revenue using the existing resources. It will also help to attract tourists,” explained Gupta. If the project takes off, the interested company or companies will have to seek necessary clearances from the Ministry of Defence as a naval base is located nearby, as well as from state government and municipal authorities. The MbPT has around 100 offshore anchorages off the Mumbai harbour. Vessels drop anchor, wait for repairs or for their turn for a berth at the docks. Urban planners question whether the MbPT needs to diversify its role to include tourism promotion. “The MbPT had earlier came up with proposals to set up a convention centre, marina and others. If at all they want to go ahead with the project, then it should prepare a master plan for it,” said Pankaj Joshi, an urban planner and architect, convenor of the Urban Design Research Institute. Joshi added that the MbPT should instead stick to its primary role rather than attempting to generate  revenue from such projects.