The officials said that for CIAL, this cruise will add a new mode in terms of revenue till the canal project is finished.
CIAL has 24-seater solar boats with an AC compartment for trial operation in the west coast canal renovated by its subsidiary, Kerala Waterways and Infrastructures Limited (KWIL).
“As the tourism sector in the state has started witnessing a surge, CIAL decided to try out a new revenue stream by deploying its solar boat for cruise activity until the canal project is completed,” CIAL said in a release.
These boats have 15 solar panels mounted upon its roof. The battery stores the power generated. Also, the system can draw power from conventional sources. The boat can be put into operation for five hours on single charging, the release said.
By taking a short cruise in this solar boat in February, Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, earlier this year, inaugurated the first phase of the canal at the Veli-Kadinamkulam stretch of the canal in Thiruvananthpuram.
