Boat market booms as CEOs embrace water transport

THERE is a boom in the boat market as Chief Executives of both Government and private organisations now prefer going to work by boats and other water crafts in and around Lagos Island so as to beat the crazy Lagos traffic.

Confirming this development, a boat maker and Chief Executive of Topher Zhang Mr Chris Ajayi, said that there is certainly a boom in the boat market following the increase in the purchase of boats by chief executives of companies and parastatals who now use boats to beat the chaotic traffic situation in Lagos.

“The reality is that more Nigerians are now using boats and other water crafts to move around Lagos in a bid to avoid traffic. We at Topher Zhang are strategising to be part of the expected growth in the waterways transport of the economy as more clients are also placing orders for boats” Ajayi stated.

He disclosed that the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) is also preparing to give support to the growth of water transport in Lagos

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Water transport to be developed

In its efforts to improve water transport in Kochi, the Corporation is planning to constitute a public limited company. It is also learnt that the Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation Ltd (KITCO), entrusted with the preparation of the detailed project report (DPR), has started the preliminary work in this regard.

As per the Corporation’s annual budget for 2011-12, the company will be on the lines of the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL). “The detailed project report will be in accordance with the study report submitted by the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) last year. The CDIA report has suggested some key components to improve the water transport system in the city. KITCO will incorporate these key factors in the CDIA report along with its DPR,” Kochi Corporation Town planning Committee chairman K J Sohan said.

He said that the consultancy will also do a study on the possibilities of setting up a public limited company for the effective management of water transport system in the city. “As per the budget proposal, the plan is to form a company in a public-private-participation mode. The state government and the Kochi Corporation will be the major stakeholders of the company. This will help the civic body to manage the system more effectively,” he said.

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Water transport bid may get scrapped

The city’s dreams of using waterways to travel around may take some more time to realise. In another case of a flip-flop over vital infrastructure projects in the city, the state government is likely to scrap the bid it received from a private company to build the cities first waterway transport system.
The state empowered committee headed by the chief secretary has recommended to the state government that the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) should build the project on its own with the help of funds from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

“The MSRDC has been asked to look into providing necessary infrastructure for water transport on its own. The funds for the project can be provided by the MMRDA,” a senior state government official said, on condition of anonymity. The committee also recommended that once the system is set in place, a private operator can be entrusted to run the project.

The MSRDC in June 2010 had received a single bid by Pratibha Industries to build a water transport system on the western coast.

The financial bid for the project was opened in August 2011 in which Pratibha Industries claimed it would recover the cost of the Rs 1,200-crore project in a period of 29 years and then hand over the project to the government.

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A Unicycle That’s a Motorcycle?

If you thought balancing on two wheels was hard enough, try balancing on one wheel. When we go to the circus, typically, we’ll see a few clowns riding unicycles. Isn’t it neat to see them do that? Well, now you can do that too, with the world’s first unicycle motorbike. A young, 18 year-old inventor named Ben Gulak has come up with a motorbike called the Uno that still uses two wheels, but they are paired side by side to create one wheel. Additionally, this unicycle motorbike uses something called gyroscopic technology (similar to what is used in the infamous Segway) in order to help the motorbike stay up without falling over. So, balancing might not be a hard as it looks.And it’s Even Eco-Friendly Too!

In order to operate this contraption, the rider leans forward to accelerate to speeds of 25mph. In order to slow down, you need to lean back. If you’re worried about what other “complicated” things there are about it, perhaps the most confusing feature is the switch to turn it on (which only has two positions: on and off). While this motorbike may look incredibly awkward, it is also incredibly eco-friendly. The motorbike runs on electricity and is small enough and light enough to be brought inside and carried around.

Gulak said that the inspiration for the bike came from visiting China and seeing all of the smog there. Part of the concept for the bike stemmed from his thinking that if it didn’t look cool, people wouldn’t be interested. The owner also reassures people that they don’t have to worry so much about the balancing part; the bike is actually self-balancing. Kudos to Gulak for this creative invention. Who knows- in a few years, you might be riding a Uno to work!
Source : nationaltransportllc.com/blog/a-delicate-balancing-act-a-unicycle-thats-a-motorcycle