Since we have a aviation and roads thread, thought that naval/seaports thread was needed. After all they carry almost all our trade with the world. Let us post pics/news/views of our ports and ships. :) :cheers:

Something about Mumbai's port.

There are 63 anchorages.
http://www.mumbaiporttrust.com/images/anchor.jpg

http://www.mumbaiporttrust.com/images/layout1.jpg

http://www.mumbaiporttrust.com/images/layout2.jpg

www.mumbaiporttrust.com

Here's a brief intro.

Ports in India

Indian Ports, Maritime Transportation, and Inland Waterways

India has eleven major sea ports: Kandla, Bombay, Nhava Sheva, Marmagao, New Mangalore, and Kochi (formerly known as Cochin) on the west coast, and Calcutta-Haldia, Paradip, Vishakhapatnam, Madras, and Tuticorin on the east coast. The port at Nhava Sheva, located across the harbor from Bombay Port, was established in 1982 under the administration of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust as a separate port rather than an adjunct to Bombay. The eleven ports in India are the responsibility of the Ministry of State for Surface Transport but are managed by semi-independent port trusts overseen by boards appointed by the ministry from government departments, including the navy, port labor and industry, and ship owners and shipping companies.

In order of gross weight tonnage conveyed annually, Bombay , Vishakhapatnam, Madras, and Marmagao are the most important ports in India . In addition, there are some 139 minor working ports along the two coasts and on offshore islands administered by local, state, or union territory maritime administrations. Total traffic at the eleven major ports increased from 107 million tons in FY 1984 to 179 million tons in FY 1993. In FY 1993, some US$250 million in profits were earned, an achievement that attracted some US$4.5 billion in foreign investments in the ports in FY 1992-FY 1993.

In 1995 there were three Indian government-owned shipping corporations, the most important of which was the Shipping Corporation of India. There were also between fifty and sixty private companies operating a total of 443 vessels amounting to 6.3 million gross registered tons, more than 300 of which were 1,000 gross registered tons or more. Indian tonnage represented 1.7 percent of the world total. Overall, the share of Indian vessels in total Indian trade is around 35 percent. Approximately 40 to 50 percent of capacity is underused. As a result of the global slump of the late 1980s, shipping companies experienced financial difficulties; the leading private shipping company, Scindia Steam Navigation Company, collapsed in 1987. The collapse left most Indian shipping under public ownership. The government's director general of shipping provides oversight for all aspects of shipping.

India has four major and three medium-sized shipyards, all government run. The Cochin Shipyards in Kochi, Hindustan Shipyard in Vishakhapatnam, and Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers in Calcutta are the most important shipbuilding enterprises in India. Thirty-five smaller shipyards in India are in the private sector. Drydocks at Kochi and Vishakhapatnam accommodate the nation's major ship repair needs.

In addition to its coastal and ocean trade routes, India has more than 16,000 kilometers of inland waterways. Of that number, more than 3,600 kilometers are navigable by large vessels, although in practice only about 2,000 kilometers are used. Inland waters are regulated by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, which was established in 1986 to develop, maintain, and regulate the nation's waterways and to advise the central and state governments on inland waterway development.

Wish we had some comparative data easily available! Some of the above data may be outdated.

The latest cargo rankings for (April - Nov 2004)

Visakhapatnam - 31.95 M.T.

Kolkata - 28.046 M.T.

Chennai - 27.711 M.T.

Kandla - 27.092 M.T

Note: Mumbai and JNPT are considered separate entities while Kolkata and Haldia are considered one.

Reports say that nearly 90% of jetties and docks in the A&Ns are completely destroyed by Tsunami.

Car Nicobar naval base said to be fully operational again in one year

Tsunami: Chennai Port escapes major damage (http://http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/01/03/stories/2005010300480600.htm)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/01/03/images/2005010300480601.jpg
Three ships were damaged in a collision at the Chennai Port on the day of the tsunami but a major disaster was averted as they avoided hitting a tanker unloading crude. — Bijoy Ghosh



"THANK God, the Chennai port was saved from a major catastrophe," was the reaction of Mr K. Suresh, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust, when assessing the impact of last Sunday's tsunami that hit the country's coastline. Beyond a collision involving three ships, the port suffered no major damage. "It took us time to recover from the initial shock," said Mr Suresh. When the first wave hit port, 18 ships were inside the harbour. Three ships broke their mooring ropes and were floating free in the basin. The heavy currents pushed these ships together and they collided with one another.

According to an eyewitness, it all happened in less than an hour. A small ship swirled several times, before hitting a large ship and was dragged out of the harbour. Of the three ships involved in the collision, Gem of Tuticorin, loading sugar, sustained heavy damage; it is estimated that about 1,500 tonnes of raw sugar was in the hatch. The other vessels were ABG Kesava and Canadian Express. ABG-Kesava hit two hoppers on the wharf and damaged them. It also hit the wharf cranes and damaged the equipment. Gem of Tuticorin was damaged by the impact of ABG-Kesava.

A large car-carrier, Golden Ray II, which was loading, was vigorously tossed about inside the harbour basin. At one point, when two ships were swirling around, as if chasing each other, a third vessel was pushed towards them, hit one, damaging the vessel. "It was a dreadful sight," the eyewitness said. One of the ships then seemed headed to a tanker unloading crude.

"We were fortunate that a collision did not occur. Otherwise, it would have been a major disaster not only for the Chennai port, but also for the entire seashore in North Chennai," said Mr Suresh.

It was a major task for the ChPT administration to handle the post-tsunami situation. According to Mr Suresh, immediately after the first wave struck the port, all senior officials gathered at the signal station to assess the situation.

The Christmas holiday for pilots and captains was cancelled, and five tugs were put into operation (two were working) in 20 minutes. Of the 18 vessels working inside the port, 13 vessels were sent out to the anchorage point. One ship tried to get out of the harbour on its own, without a tug, and damaged some of the port's infrastructure, including dolphin mooring. Fortunately, it did not block the ship entry channel, he said. It was a terrible sight to see ships hitting the wharf, and some even climbing on top of the structure, he said.

The loss for the port due to the tsunami could be around Rs 10 crore on damage to infrastructure, including wharf, equipment and cranes. Another Rs 10 crore would need to be spent on dredging to remove the silt formation, according to Mr Suresh.

Mr Ennarasu Karunesan, Terminal Manager, Chennai Container Terminal (CCT), the private container terminal operator at the Chennai port, said the first reaction after the first wave hit the port was to evacuate the employees immediately. Vessels were secure and also equipment. Further, the equipment was "storm tie down" — the equipment is hooked and cannot move, and can withstand any natural disaster.

The ChPT plans to commission a study on what it needs to do to prepare itself to withstand nature's fury. The Chennai Port suspended operations for two days and resumed full operations only to find a road used by container trailers blocked by homeless fishermen who had put up temporary structures.

The tsunami not only created havoc inside the Chennai Port, but also affected the Tuticorin port to some extent. According to media reports, Sri Lanka took the major brunt of the tsunami and that perhaps saved Tuticorin from major damage. The minor port of Cuddalore, located some 150 km from Chennai and used mainly for fishing, a concrete wall was damaged.

At the Nagapattinam minor port, some of the old structures, including the office of the junior engineer, were damaged. But oil storage tanks and godowns escaped, say media reports. The Ennore port did not suffer major damage, said sources.

5 firms submit bid for Rs 3,000 cr JNPT projects

PTI[ SUNDAY, JANUARY 02, 2005 04:25:45 PM]

MUMBAI: Five project management companies including two global majors -- UK-based Scot Wilson and French major Stup -- have submitted bids to conduct a techno-economic feasibility study for the Rs 3,000-crore expansion plans of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

"The board of JNPT, which is scheduled to meet early this month, would shortlist and finalise a company for the study. This, however, has to be approved by the Ministry of Shipping (MoS)," shipping industry sources told PTI.

Besides Scot Wilson and Stup, three Indian companies in the fray are L&T Ramboll, Howe India Pvt Ltd and Consultancy Engineering Services, they said from Delhi. The Rs 3,000 crore expansion project entails setting up of a fourth container terminal and a Marine Chemical Terminal (MCT) at JN Port, they added.

Meanwhile, a senior port official said the JNPT would initiate efforts to obtain approvals from Ministry of Environment and Forest for container and chemical terminals. "JN Port has already begun

`Rapid Environment Impact Study', and IIT Bombay will also submit an environment impact report on setting up of the terminals by March," he said. It would take at least six to eight months to get environmental clearance and MoS would take a final decision on the proposed projects, he added.

"However, the board is yet to decide finance models for the terminals which will be completed in a phased manner. They will be debating a mix of private investment and government share for both the terminals", an industry source added.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/978229.cms

Rs 15,500 crore to be invested in ports (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=178097)

Gujarat today signed 32 deals worth Rs 15,500 crore on the concluding day of global investor summit for various projects in the port sector, of which Rs 13,000 crore is for development of five greenfield ports, a top official of Gujarat Maritime Board said.

The amount is more than what has been invested in the state’s port sector in the last ten years, chief executive officer of the GMB H K Dash said here.

The greenfield port at Maroli in south Gujarat has attracted the highest investment of Rs 6,000 crore with six investors proposing to investment in the project. The other four greenfield port projects are Vansi Borsi, Simar, Mithivirdi and Bedi.

Govt approves transhipment terminal in Cochin Port:

http://athens-olympics-2004.newkerala.com/?action=fullnews&id=60013

Fresh bids to be floated for Vizhinjam container terminal

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/01/19/stories/2005011901030700.htm[B]

German logistics co in pact with Seaways Shipping

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/blnus/09271706.htm

Tsunami-hit Chennai port bounces back

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=63566

Tata Steel, L&T forms JV to build port in Orissa

http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=72773

Paradip port posts record iron ore throughput in Jan

PARADIP Port handled more than one million tonnes (mt) of iron ore for export in January, the highest-ever iron ore throughput achieved in any month.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/09/stories/2005020901410700.htm

PM to lay foundation for container terminal (http://www.business-standard.com/bsonline/storypage.php?&autono=180789)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will arrive in Kerala for a two-day visit on Tuesday. The main programme of his hectic schedule is the foundation stone laying ceremony of Vallarpadam International Container Terminal (VICT) on Tuesday.

VICT is taking off at last after a 14 year long process The project was originally planned way back in 1990 and global tender had been invited twice.

The Rs 1,868 crore project is vital for the infrastructure development of Kerala. Dubai Port International (DPI) had been awarded the contract for developing a hub port at Vallarpadam on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in 30 years.

For that purpose Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT) will also be handed over to DPI and they will operate the terminal. The full-fledged functioning of RGCT under DPI will commence in three months, according to port officials.

The revenue from the terminal will be shared between DPI and the port on a 67:33 basis.

Details at http://www.ameinfo.com/news/Detailed/54104.html

Dubai Ports International (DPI), one of the world's leading port operators, today announced that it has formally signed an agreement with The Kochi Port Trust (KoPT) to construct, develop and operate an International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) – An India Gateway Terminal – at Vallarpadam.

The project was formally launched with the laying of the foundation stone by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The ceremony was attended by Thomas Jacob, Chairman, KoPT and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman Dubai Ports.

Vallarpadam is the largest single-operator container terminal currently planned in India and the first in the country to operate in a Special Economic Zone(SEZ). The new terminal will make Kochi a key centre in the shipping world reducing India's dependence on foreign ports to handle transhipment.

Construction is expected to be completed in four years and commercial operations to begin within a year of completion.

The total cost of the project is estimated at US$500 million and will be funded by DPI through non-recourse debt funding. The debt is provided by a consortium of banks led by the Infrastructure Development Fund Company (IDFC), set up to provide growth capital for infrastructure projects in India.

Pvt firms will anchor maritime sector revamp

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=65148

Financial closure of Dhamra port project by May

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/23/stories/2005022300610700.htm

Chennai Container Terminal hurls back

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=181639

Congestion at JNPT — Harbouring trouble

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/14/stories/2005031401800600.htm

topic:What caused the congestion at JNPT and what lessons can we learn from it?

Mercator plans Rs 1,300-cr fleet expansion

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/14/stories/2005031400700200.htm

more growth here......

SCI to buy 18 new ships for $1.5 billion (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=183581)

The new acquisitions include two very large crude carriers, six handysize bulk carriers, six LR-I product tankers, two container ships and two Aframax tankers.

Mumbai Port Trust draws up plans to boost capacity

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=86175

2nd container terminal at Chennai port soon

The Centre will soon give approval for the second container terminal at the Chennai port, Union Shipping Secretary D T Joseph said here today.

"Though both Chennai and Ennore ports have enough scope for container terminals, Chennai will come first to have that terminal facility, which will be its second, since it has the infrastructure available ready to create such facility," he said while addressing an interactive session, organised by CII Institute of Logistics.

However, the container terminal at Ennore, though it will take some time to set up, will be a dream project and will have more bright chances for growth than Chennai port, since Ennore port has huge inter-land space and other facilities.

There will not be any obstacles to set up the second container terminal at Chennai port, he added.

The government will also consider providing additional lines for CCTL, the first private container terminal at the Chennai port and will ensure level-playing field, he said.

Kochi terminal handed over to Dubai Ports International

http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/02/stories/2005040202321500.htm

Varun Shipping to list on Singapore Despository receipts

Mumbai: Varun Shipping Company Ltd is planning to issue Singapore Depository Receipts (SDRs) and utilise the proceeds to acquire two to three vessels for hydrocarbon transporation.

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=96061

Star Cruises introduces SuperStar Libra in India

The SuperStar Libra which will be homeported in Mumbai from September this year.

Chong Chee-Tut, Chief Operating Officer of Star Cruises, said, "We are indeed excited about the positioning of SuperStar Libra in Mumbai which is timely in bringing the cruise experience right to the very doorstep of India. The acceptance of our product in the Indian market has grown tremendously over the last five years and is expected to continue with the positioning of a Star Cruises ship in India. Our sales and marketing efforts will be intensified accordingly to create greater awareness in India."

http://www.indiainfoline.com/news/news.asp?dat=56790

Indigenous aircraft carrier construction begins

India today joined a select group of five nations in beginning construction of a large aircraft carrier.

In a big step forward for the indigenous ship building industry, the steel cutting ceremony for the carrier was held earlier today.

The Rs 3,200 crore ship, which can carry 30 combat aircraft and helicopters, is designed to provide sea control and power projection capabilities to the Indian Navy.

The 37,500 tonne carrier, unnamed so for, will be ready in 2012

http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Aircraft+carrier+construction+begins&id=71344

Kolkata Port Trust earns record profit

CPT has clocked a net profit of Rs 156 crore for 2004-05 compared with Rs 113.28 crore in the previous year, registering a rise of 38 per cent. The port has handled 46.15 million tonnes cargo compared with 41,26 tonnes last year, making it the second largest in the country after Vishakhapatnam. The port achieved a balanced growth across all categories.

Hamburg keen to invest in Indian ports

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/09181706.htm

Project Seabird at Karwar, karnataka

Fabrication of Shiplift in progress
http://www.lntecc.com/gallery/images/20/big5.jpg

Barge mounted cranes in action at Southern Breakwater
http://www.lntecc.com/gallery/images/20/big4.jpg

Work Harbour
http://www.lntecc.com/gallery/images/20/big2.jpg

Completed view of Nothern Breakwater
http://www.lntecc.com/gallery/images/20/big1.jpg

Jetty for coal terminal berth 4A Haldia Port for International Seaports (Haldia) Pvt. Ltd
http://www.lntecc.com/gallery/images/18/big1.jpg

Breakwater construction with accropod armour, in progress at Shell LNG Terminal in Hazira
http://www.lntecc.com/gallery/images/18/big2.jpg

other
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http://www.lntecc.com/gallery/images/18/big7.jpg
http://www.lntecc.com/gallery/images/18/big9.jpg

What the major ports moved, and how much

THE COUNTRY'S major ports together posted 11.3 per cent growth on a total cargo throughput of 383.77 million tonnes (mt) in 2004-05 compared to 9.9 per cent growth at 344.7 mt in 2003-04.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/05/02/stories/2005050200770600.htm

Shell plans cargo terminal at Hazira

It will be an investment of Rs 3000 crore.

http://www.hindu.com/2005/05/18/stories/2005051803431700.htm

Sethusamudram project finally gets green signal

CR Jayachandran (HindustanTimes.com)

New Delhi, May 19, 2005



The much-delayed Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project, which seeks to create a navigable channel from the Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal through the Palk Bay, has finally got the green signal from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday.

The Rs 2,427.40 crore project, aimed at getting more business for ports in India, has been almost a century-and-a-half in the making and envisages linking the Arabian Sea with the Bay of Bengal by dredging the shallow waters to the North of Sri Lanka.

These waters have hitherto not been navigable by cargo shipping, and according to Shipping Secretary DT Joseph, once the project is completed, it would help save a distance of up to 424 nautical miles and a time of up to 30 hours for ships sailing between the East and West coast and vice versa.

Even after more than 50 years of Independence, India does not have a continuous navigable route within its own territorial waters and ships from Kolkata still have to go around Sri Lanka to reach Tuticorin, one of the 11 major ports in the country located on the south-eastern coast near the Indian ocean in Tamil Nadu.

Experts also opined that after the canal is constructed, the distance between Cape Comorin and Chennai would be reduced to about 400 nautical miles from the present 755. It will also avoid circumnavigation of ships around Sri Lanka, thereby resulting in savings in fuel costs and standing charges associated with extra period of voyages.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, prepared by the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of Nagpur, envisaged the waterway to be 260 km in length and 300 metres in breadth. The canal has been assessed at various depths, but is likely to be 14.5 metres deep, allowing the passage of ships with a draught of up to 12.8 metres, including bulk carriers of 65,000 DWT, 240m length overall and 33m beam and container vessels of 56,000 DWT, 290m length overall and 32.2m beam.

In order to create this passage, two channels would have to be dredged, one across AdamÂ’s Bridge (the chain of islets and shallows linking India with Sri Lanka) just South-East of Pamban island and another through the shallows of Palk Bank, deepening the Palk Straits.

The greatest beneficiary of the project will be Tuticorin harbour, which has the potential to transform into a transhipment hub such as those in Singapore and Colombo. The project will also help in the development of the proposed 13 minor ports in Tamil Nadu.

Impact on environment

However, environmentalists had expressed concern over the adverse impact of the project, especially on the Maritime National Park in the Gulf of Mannar, known for its fascinating coral reefs, and the flora and fauna in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay.

But Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister TR Baalu said, "The study of the project through primary and secondary data collection with mathematical modelling carried out by the NEERI indicates that the apprehensions of damage to the coral reefs and flora and fauna in the project area are unfounded."

He had earlier discounted fears, triggered in the aftermath of the tsunami tragedy, of any damage to the channel in case of such a phenomenon.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in the 2004-05 Budget, had announced the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 2233 crore.

"The SPV will raise funds for the project and the Government will participate in the funding through a mix of equity support and debt guarantee," Chidambaram had pointed out.

The project was originally conceived in 1860 by the British Commander AD Taylor of the Indian Marines. Thereafter, almost once in every decade a committee or a prominent expert made a recommendation in favour of the construction of the canal. In 1955, for the first time since Independence, the Government of India constituted the Sethusamudram Project Committee under Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliyar to examine the feasibility and desirability of connecting the Gulf of Mannar with Palk Bay and its impact on the port of Tuticorin. The committee recommended that the canal project be linked to the Tuticorin Harbour Project and that both projects be undertaken simultaneously. The cost of the joint project was estimated at Rs 9.98 crore. The Sethusamudram Project Committee report was, however, put in cold storage. In 1963, the government sanctioned only the Tuticorin project.

http://hindustantimes.com/news/181_1368353,000900020001.htm

Good news ...

Interesting to know that Tuticorin harbour has the potential to transform into a transhipment hub such as those in Singapore and Colombo

Concor to set up berths at Hazira, Ennore, Chennai — Aims at Rs 5,000-cr turnover by March 2009

Concor is in the process of setting up container berths at Hazira, Ennore and Chennai ports and firming up its container procurement plans..The third berth at JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) is coming up. Moreover, traffic is picking up at Pipavav, Mundra and Vizag

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/05/20/stories/2005052001740700.htm


Boom in IT,Automobile,Textile, now in aviation..soon iits going to be in seaports

Cruise terminal planned at Kochi port (http://www.business-standard.com/bsonline/storypage.php?&autono=189698)

Kochi port is making an all out effort to have a separate cruise berth since the port authorities expect increased traffic of cruise liners in the coming years.

The port, with the active participation of Kerala Tourism Department, will construct a full fledged cruise terminal meeting international standards at an estimated cost Rs 50 crore, sources said.

Cruise carriers had started visiting Kochi from the year 2000 onward. During 2000-01, 34 ships berthed at Kochi with 8,333 passengers. The port earned revenues of Rs 1.4 crore in that year.

In 2001-02 the number had decreased to 22 ships, and sources say poor facilities at the port was one reason.

The attack on the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2003 had affected the tourist traffic to Kochi in the subsequent months of 2002-03 and the total ships that visited the port were only 11. The revenue was to the tune of Rs 33 lakh only. During 2003-04, 18 liners berthed in Kochi.

India opens giant naval base in Arabian Sea

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13813621

Mumbai Port to privatise terminals

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=13870877

Kochi: The Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor) has picked up a 15 per cent stake in India Gateway Terminal Private Ltd, a company floated by Dubai Ports International, to set up and operate the international container transhipment terminal.

A 600 metres of quay will be built which will have the capacity to handle one million TEU.

http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_c/container_corporation_india/20050223_stake.htm

India Starts Dredging A New Southern Sea Channel - Report
2 July 2005

NEW DELHI (AP)--India Saturday started dredging a new 167-kilometer sea channel off southern India so that ships following the Indian coastline will no longer need to make a detour around Sri Lanka, a news report said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pressed a button to start the operation in Nagapattinam, 290 kilometers south of Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Indian ships will save at least 30 hours and 400 nautical miles by sailing through the new channel. The channel between India and Sri Lanka is currently too shallow to allow ships to pass.

The Sethusamudram project, approved by India's government in May, is expected to cost US$550 million.

The new channel will be 167 kilometers long, 300 meters wide, and 14.5 meters deep. It will provide a continuous navigable sea lane along India's eastern and western coasts, said V.V. Ramamurthy, an official of Tuticorin port, which is heading the dredging project.

The project, originally conceived by British colonial officials in 1860, was never implemented as successive governments doubted its economic benefits. At least 15 surveys were done in as many decades, with fluctuating cost estimates and project specifications and occasional doubts about the environmental safety.

Kolkata Port Trust tops growth in Q1 traffic

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/09121501.htm

`Next five years are crucial for Kochi port'

DR JACOB Thomas, Chairman of the Cochin Port Trust, who has contributed immensely to make the Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal project here a reality, has relinquished charge on Sunday on completion of his five-year tenure.

Speaking to Business Line, Dr Thomas said Kochi Port is on the threshold of a major developmental path and the next five years are quite crucial in this regard. Prior to the commissioning of ICTT at Vallarpadam in April 2006, he said several infrastructure facilities had to be cleared by the time.

ICTT is the only one in the basket of projects under the Integrated Development Plan of the port and the other projects such as Single Buoy Mooring, LNG Terminal, Port-based SEZ etc could also be completed in the next five years.

"All preliminary works related to these projects are completed and now what remains is the timely execution," he said.

According to Dr Thomas, tenders for building a road link between the ICTT and National Highway No. 47 at Kalamassery would be invited in October. Land acquisition for the project is on the fast track and would be completed soon.

Report for the rail link for the ICTT project is expected by August 20 from the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, he said. The feasibility study for the international ship repair facilities has been completed and once the sales tax exemption is obtained, the international bunkering terminal could take off.

He said that Kochi Refineries Ltd had evinced interest in the proposed bunkering terminal. KRL having been associated with the Port for such a long time had a big advantage in the process of getting a share in the proposed bunkering facility. The notification for the port-based special economic zone, he said, is expected by the middle of August.

Referring to cruise handling facility in the port, he said Kochi needs a dedicated cruise terminal considering the tremendous potential of tourism related activities in Kerala.

He pointed out that there was a suggestion at a recent meeting of port officials in New Delhi for the formation of a separate entity to handle cruise business. The entity could comprise tourism departments of various port States as well as the Union Government.

There is also a plan to reclaim about 300 acres of land in the eastern side of Vallarpadam facing Bolghatty. This would improve the flow in the Ernakulam channel, thus reducing the siltation and thereby lowering the dredging cost. The cruise terminal can be situated on this reclaimed land facing the channel and well removed from Cochin Oil Terminal towards west.

Kochi Port has already started regaining the position it deserves in the development of Kerala and this region. "I have no doubt that in the years to come, it will not only be a centre for development of Kerala but to the rest of the region as well," Dr Thomas said.

National Maritime Development Programme — Putting port infrastructure on fast channel (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/22/stories/2005082200120600.htm)

ON THE heels of the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South and East-West projects that are expected to vastly improve connectivity in India, comes the Rs 61,000-crore National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP) to boost infrastructure at major ports in the next ten years.

Under the NMDP, 228 projects have been identified for implementation in two phases through public-private partnership. By identifying specific projects and other measures, the NMDP will over the next 10 years give a concrete shape to the vision and strategy of the National Maritime Policy, says a note from the Union Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways.

According to the Ministry, the traffic is likely to grow at all ports at a compounded annual growth rate of 7.69 per cent; the CAGR for traffic at major ports was 7.43 per cent and non-major ports 8.47 per cent. The highest CAGR has been in container traffic, at 18.31 per cent.

To meet the projected traffic of 705.84 million tonnes to be handled by 2013-14 at major ports, a capacity of 917.59 million tonnes has been estimated. According to the Ministry note, this means in the next ten years additional capacities of 528.09 million tonnes would have to be created; the current port capacity is 389.5 million tonnes.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/22/images/2005082200120601.jpg

Thiruvananthapuram , Aug 17

THE State Government has received technical and financial bids from
two companies for the development of the proposed international
container trans-shipment terminal at nearby Vizhinjam.

The two companies are Gammon India Ltd of Mumbai, and a consortium
of Mumbai-based Zoom Developers and two Chinese companies - Kaidi
Electric Power Company and China Harbour Engineering Company. The
last date for submitting the bids was August 17.

The Government, which invited the tenders in January this year, had
subsequently extended the last date thrice. In the first instance,
the date was extended as the prospective bidders wanted certain
changes in the project structure.

After the latest extension of the date to August 17, 22 companies
had bought the request for proposal (RFP) documents but only two
came back with bids before the deadline.

The Minister of Ports, Mr M.V. Raghavan, told newspersons on
Wednesday that three months would be required to examine the bids
and take a decision on the private promoter.

An evaluation committee for examining the bids is expected to be
constituted at the next Cabinet meeting, he added.

Once the promoter has been identified, the Government will sign a
build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement by December this year; work
on the project will commence by the middle of next year.

If everything goes as per schedule, the project will go on stream in
2009, the Minister said.

The project, which will be a joint venture between the Government
and the private promoter, is proposed to be implemented in three
phases at a total cost of Rs 4,200 crore. Of this, the first phase,
for which the tenders have been received now, will cost Rs 1,850
crore.

The Minister said that the Government's equity in the joint venture
would be 24 per cent, in which non-resident Keralites and Government
institutions would be able to become stakeholders.

At a debt-equity ratio of 1:1.5, the Government's share in the
equity of the joint venture would be around Rs 180 crore in the
first phase.

The Government has already floated a company called Vizhinjam
International Seaport Ltd for developing the basic infrastructure
for the project, such as roads, railway line, water supply, and
electricity. The total outlay for establishing these facilities has
been placed at Rs 80 crore.

In the event of the Government not being able to finalise a partner,
it would go on its own to work on the basic components of the
project such as breakwaters and reclamation, the Minister said.

This would require around Rs 500 crore, which could be mobilised by
way of Budgetary support and loans from financial institutions, he
added.

This thread will focus on on of the landmark projects taken up by nation in 21 century, International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadam Island, Kochi. Let us start with inaugural function, from Business Line, Feb 17, 2005



Vallarpadam first global hub terminal: PM
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/17/images/2005021700790701.jpg
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Shipping Minister, Mr T.R. Baalu, applauding the exchange of documents between Dr Jacob Thomas, Kochi Port Chairman, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayeen, Executive Chairman of PCTZ, UAE, for the proposed ICTT at Vallarpadam, in Kochi on Wednesday.

Kochi , Feb. 16

WITH the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, laying the foundation stone for the Rs 2,118-crore Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal at Kochi on Wednesday, the decade-old project moved closer to reality.

The Prime Minister said the terminal would act as a gateway to the world as it would place the country's exports, particularly from South India, at par in logistics competitiveness with their global counterparts.

"This ceremony of laying the foundation stone is the first step in realising a decade-old expectation of a community focussing on seafaring activities and depending on them for creation of large indirect employment, among other benefits," he said.

Describing it as the first global hub terminal, Dr Singh said it has immense potential to spin off effects through direct terminal related employment and indirectly through activities such as road, transport, warehousing, repairs, training and related activities.

The project is expected to provide the backbone for and accelerate six other maritime related projects which include the Rs 1,600-crore LNG terminal, the Rs 1,510-crore port-based special economic zone, the Rs 315-crore International Ship Repair complex and the Rs 720-crore SBM for Kochi Refineries Ltd. There is also a proposal to create an international marina at Kochi.

The Union Government recognises the crucial role that the Kochi port can generate employment and ensure balanced regional development. It is providing financial aid to these projects, road connectivity to the port from the national highways and rail connectivity, said Dr Singh.

The Prime Minister said his Government was giving special attention to infrastructure development, including ports by setting up a Cabinet committee to facilitate greater flow of investments.

There is need for a co-ordinated development of major and minor ports. The Shipping Ministry's proposal to provide financial aid for the development of minor ports will be considered, Dr Singh said.

Describing the foundation function as a "second revolution in the Indian maritime sector," the Union Shipping Minister, Mr T. R. Baalu, said the economy would definitely get a boom once the terminal becomes fully operational.

He said the shipping sector had witnessed an impressive growth of 10.8 per cent in handling capacity in the last eight months by handing 311 million tonnes against 284 million tonnes last year.

The average output per day also increased from 8,592 tonnes to 8,830 tonnes. Turnaround of vessels in 12 major ports has been reduced to 3.38 hours from 3.48.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, PCTZ, UAE, said Dubai Ports had outlined an investment of $20 million in the project to make Kochi a major global centre in the region. The setting up of this terminal of international significance is the "right project in right place and in right time," he said.

A study (courtesy: ICFAI Univ Press)

Vallarpadam Container Terminal Project: Enabling Port Infrastructure


Vallarpadam Container Terminal Project (VCTP) will be a unique one in infrastructure to boost the containerization in India. The establishment of VCTP will help in bringing larger ships to India and therefore will decrease the dependence on foreign ports.

-N Janardhan Rao and Deepak Kumar

The important infrastructures in port sector are marine access, cargo infrastructure, land access infrastructure, port superstructure services and port operators. A rapid increase in tariff volume over the years which has opened differerent challenges to restructuring the major and minor ports in India and to handle large tariff in less time, containerization is the need of the hour. The growth of containerization in India has been slow and steady the growth of containerization in India has been slow and steady and mostly dry goods based. Initially, it was government run and relied much on captive cargo. In 1988, Container Corporation of India (Concor) was established as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Railways, which has really boosted the container traffic in the country. The new terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Mumbai port which have been established as the gateway ports for container traffic to India have really pushed up the volumes. Together, they have a market share of around 60% of the total container traffic. However, substantial investments have been made in recent times by private players in the ports of Tuticorin and Cochin to overcome the backlog. Following the global trend, Indian ports are trying to take the role of a hub port by developing the necessary infrastructure to attract large size mother vessels, but it is going to be a complex exercise, especially as regards trans-shipment cargo.

As of now 38 million tons out of 78 million tons of cargo is only being containerized in India. Thus, there is a big prospect of trans-shipment by containerization in Indian maritime industry. Raj Mal, Senior Principal PS to Secretary (Shipping), says, "The rate of growth of containerization should be speeded up so that more products are imported and exported using containers. Also, the infrastructure necessary for the manufacture of containers, and transport and containers documentation related to customs procedure should be speeded up and simplified."

P Nair, Senior Consultant and Member of New Initiatives Group, The ICFAI University says, "India has always been weak in the field of trans-shipment cargo, which is often the true test of the worth of a port. Captive cargo can always be obtained, especially in a government set up and there is no real need for a port to do any marketing to attract cargo. With trans-shipment, the situation is totaly different and there are several alternative ports of call along a route. The one which is most attractive both cost-wise and service-wise will be selected."

Vallarpadam Container Terminal Project (VCTP)

Vallarpadam is a part of the existing Cochin port. The Cochin port became a major port under the Major Port Trust Act 1963 and now has crude handling facilitates, containerization of cargo and electronic data interchange facilities, which have put Cochin in the front as far as port development in the country is concerned. The Cochin port has unique geographical advantages as it is near to international sea trade routes which connects Europe and the Gulf to South East Asia and the Far East.

Vallarpadam Container Terminal Project (VCTP) will be a unique project in infrastructure, especially to boost containerization in India. VCTP was
inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on February 16, 2005. While inaugurating VCTP, Dr. Manmohan Singh said, "The project would be a role model for private-public partnership, blending efficiently private sector managerial efficiency and marketing acumen with public sector capital and infrastructure planning."

VCTP will be India's first ever International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT). According to a CNBC report, this project will enable India to move into the top 20 maritime nations. A detailed study of VCTP was done by Frederic R Harris, the Dutch Consultants and the total establishment cost of VCTP has been estimated at Rs. 2,118 cr. Dubai Ports International (DPI) has emerged as the successful bidder for developing and operating the project on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis for 30 years by quoting the highest revenue share of 33.30% to the Port Trust and the project is expected to be completed by 2009. It is expected to be one of the largest single-operator trans-shipment terminals in India.

Issues

Privatization of infrastructure is to some extent the necessity in today's world. The same goes for the port condition. The question of privatization in ports rose because of inefficiency in the system. There are several issues which need to be catered to in case of the VCTP like:

* Will DPI be contributing the overall development of the VCTP port services?
* Will labor unions accept the large-scale entry of private operators like DPI?

There has been seen several problems in privatizing this sector like multiplicity of activities within the port sector and the argument to justify port operation from public monopoly to private monopoly. Nevertheless, BOT projects are the backbone of today's Indian infrastructure because the government does not have sufficient funds to take care of every socio-regional-economical development and thus the time has come to involve private investors, be it Indian or international. In the port sector, Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT) was the first ever concession agreement to P&O Ports (Australia) and NSICT has proved that privatization of ports will really work if properly managed. NSICT, today, is rated high on the international scale. Raj Mal says, "ICTT project in
India will be as successful as other BOT projects in the road sector in India." But
P Nair contradicts by adding, "Road projects are one thing and a massive high-tech container port is quite another thing altogether. Massive support will be required from the Kerala government and labor unions at least in the first five years of operation, to make this project a success." Thus, issues like labor problems and operational activities must be catered to while implementing high-tech and high-cost projects like VCTP.

While discussing VCTP's future contribution to the Indian maritime sector, Raj Mal says, "ICTT, Vallarpadam will help in bringing larger ships to India and, therefore, will avoid trans-shipment through ports such as Colombo. It is expected that private investors will ensure aggressive marketing and the best of technology to ensure faster throughput of containers through ICTT, Vallarpadam." At present, almost 70% of the trans-shipment business meant for India is being handled by ports such as Colombo, Salalah, Dubai, Aden and Singapore and thus the dependency on these countries will definitely be less.

Challenges

Generally, the following problems can be observed in a poorly developed port system:

* Too much idle time at the berth because of frequent break down of obsolete equipment and no assured timing for container trains.
* Inadequate berth and dredging and absence of round-the-clock working in three shifts as well as lack of commitment to work 365 days in an year.
* Non-matching working culture of the customs department for commercial needs of the port and lack of integration of port and trunk railways.
* Inadequate financial and administrative powers.

Thus, VCTP has to counter the above problems in order to brand itself among the best container terminals, especially when neighboring countries are highly equipped to handle traffics and to manage the system. In Raj Mal's opinion, the challenge before VCTP will be, "To compete with Colombo and ensure the latest of equipment and the best of practices at reasonable costs such that international lines will patronize Vallarpadam in competition with Colombo. The landward facilities in Cochin and the connectivity with the hinterland would be major challenges for ICTT." On the other hand, P Nair opines, "Getting the labor organized will still be a big problem, although the situation has improved somewhat. Also, the need to attract sufficient cargo to keep the port viable, especially at the initial stage is the key. Cochin is definitely not a port which is really on the international maritime map. So, marketing is a major issue right now." Therefore, the process of `brand building' and road shows will have to start and some amount of money and time will have to be spent in this process. At the same time, Indian maritime has to take a lesson from international maritime, which has done really better by implementing high-tech technologies. The Singapore Port, for instance, uses advanced communication and information technology to allow its terminal operators to communicate with terminals in order to enhance its productivity.

Future opportunities

Vallarpadam, ICTT will help bring trans-shipment of Indian cargo back to India. Raj Mal says, "Since Vallarpadam is part of the existing Cochin port, we hope that the strategic advantage of line owners to the international route will be fully utilized by this terminal." Thus, projects like International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, Cochin will be helpful in bringing up India in the international maritime industry. P Nair also quotes, "The strategic advantages in establishing Vallarpadam container terminal is its `East-West' route. Earlier, ships used to avoid this port due to

(i) Poor technological facility and

(ii) Constant and consistent labor troubles, leading to delays."

In sum, VCTP will handle the bulk of the cargo from this terminal, which is now trans-shipped via Dubai, Colombo, the ports of kelang, Salalah and Singapore. The completion of the ICTT project will reduce container traffic and save time. The completion of such projects will surely be helpful in placing the Indian maritime industry on the global map.

Reference # 01M-2005-05-02-01.

Sri Lanka concerned about impact of Kochi port projects on Colombo.

The Economic Times 4/12/2005

Byline: Anto T Joseph

Apr. 12--MUMBAI, India -- Two mega projects, the Vallarpadam International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT) in Kochi and the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) have raised concerns in Sri Lanka. The country seems to be perturbed by the progress of the two projects, which it believes, would affect the prospects of one of its top forex earners -- Colombo Port.

The Colombo Port, which is a leading regional hub port, is heavily depending on Indian trans-shipped cargo.

Pics of present container terminal, managed by India Gateway Terminal Ltd a subsidiary of Dubai Ports Int'l

http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/cochin-port-002.jpg

http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/cochin-port-003.jpg

Giant Gantries in action

http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/cochin-port-013.jpg

Action...

http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/cochin-port-016.jpg

More action..

http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/cochin-port-006.jpg

As container traffic rises leap n bounds more gantries are being installed by DPI


http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/cochin_RTGs_Arrive.jpg

Adani ship yard to start in '08 (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1259637.cms)

Adani Group of Industries, which has embarked on a Rs 1,500 crore ship building and repair yard at Mundra port in Gujarat, hopes to launch commercial operations from 2008.

The Rs 1,100-crore Adani Group, a major player in private infrastructure, hopes that its project to build and repair a diverse range of vessels would give similar facilities in China, Japan and South Korea a run for their money.

Plans include building two type of tonnage ships -- Panamax size big ships having 80,000 to 90,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) and Handy Max size of medium ships having a tonnage of around 35,000 DWT.


Bharati Shipyards and ABG are two major private ship builders in India. There are a couple of medium-sized ship builders in Kolkata and Goa.

While the demand for ship building shifted to Asian countries mainly China, Japan and South Korea due to the collapse of European Shipbuilding yards, ship repairing business is concentrated in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam in the international route.

Most of the ship building capacity in India is with government-owned companies, which mainly cater to defence needs.

Indian port seeks $100M in foreign loans


OCT. 25 5:22 A.M. ET An Indian port is seeking foreign loans worth $100 million to dredge a shipping channel between India and Sri Lanka, an official said Tuesday.

The Sethusamudram project is aimed at shortening the sailing time between ports on the eastern and western coasts of India by cutting a 104-mile channel in the shallow sea off the country's southern coast. Ships following the Indian coastline now have to make a detour around Sri Lanka.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8DEVJ0G3.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db

indian port infrastructure is very bad compared to those of china and other east asian as well as western countries. i recently read a magazine article which said the carrying capacity as well a infrastructure in place is only nominal compared to the top 20 ports in the world. but recently ppl have started to realize and money is flowing in. but it will still be a long way before we can have world-class ports. something like 15 years as per the current rate of spending on these ports.

The Sunday Times
October 30, 2005

Dubai predator to offer £3bn for P&O
Mark Kleinman
P&O, Britain’s biggest ports and ferries group, is set to receive a £3 billion takeover approach from a Middle East rival as early as this week.

Dubai Ports World (DPW) (erstwhile DPI), which is owned by the Gulf state’s government, has hired Deutsche Bank to advise it on a bid. Banking sources in Dubai said this weekend that a preliminary meeting between the two sides was likely to take place within days.

That would make it worlds biggest port conglomerate !! So Vallarpadam ICTT which is poised to be South Asia's transshipment hub will be the key in the scheme of things

Mumbai cruise terminal project looks for consultants

P R Sanjai in Mumbai | November 05, 2005 12:20 IST

Mumbai Port Trust is scouting for consultants for preparing a detailed project report for constructing a greenfield cruise terminal on build, operate and transfer basis at an estimated cost of Rs 153 crore (Rs 1.53 billion).
"The board of Mumbai port has already approved the concept of greenfield cruise terminal and the port has floated global tenders, inviting consultants to prepare a detailed report for the proposed dedicated cruise terminal," said P Mohanachandran, secretary, Mumbai Port.

According to shipping industry sources, a dedicated cruise terminal would enable Mumbai port to evacuate the passengers soon without obstructing the handling of cargo vessels, which is the main business of MbPT.

The sources added, "This greenfield project will help the port increase its revenue from cargo vessels, as the cruise vessels do not affect the berthing of cargo ships."

At present, the cruise vessels are handled at the port's Ballard Pier Extension (BPX) berth, which has a terminal building for this purpose. This multi-purpose berth is the only deep-drafted berth, which is free from all beam restrictions and capable of berthing vessels up to 10.5 metre draft.

Earlier, the international cruise operating major Star Cruise had chosen the Mumbai port as the home port for its cruise vessel Super Star Libra, which would make three calls at the port a week.

Mohanachandran said that the location of the greenfield cruise terminal is near Radio Club in south Mumbai. It would be a finger jetty and would be able to handle cruise vessels at both the sides.

The special approach road to this terminal would facilitate easy evacuation of tourists.

According to an MbPT official, the port would construct a berth, a trestle, mooring dolphins, walkways and a terminal building on the proposed berth of cruise terminal. It would also carry out capital dredging of the approach channel.

"The facilities onshore will be developed by the BOT operator. The BOT operator will be allowed to construct facilities such as a convention centre, a viewing gallery, duty free shops, malls, etc. Income from facilities provided will be claimed by the BOT operator. The revenue will be passed on to the port," said the MbPT official.

On the issue of the inability to give berth to cargo vessels in BPX due to Super Star Libra, Mohanachandran did not comment but said that a dedicated jetty would not only help the port, but would also mean lot of tourism potential to Mumbai city as a whole.

However, industry sources pointed out that the handling of cargo vessels are affected due to allotment of BPX to Super Star Libra. Moreover, as BPX is a customs notified area, the entry and exits are highly regulated, creating a barrier for the free flow necessary for a cruise terminal.

Mumbai Port: Cruising Dreams

The proposed cruise terminal will be sighted on the south of Sassoon Dock and on west of the main harbour channel in such a way that minimum dredging is done to the approach channel.
The berth will be double banking connected by a 15 metre wide trestle.
Near the mainland, it should have facilities for entertainment avenues, with a ground plus two-storeyed structure for various utilities such as a convention centre, conference halls, duty-free shopping, shopping malls, entertainment, indoor games, parlour and a viewing gallery with restaurant apart from a sizeable car parking facility for tourist buses, taxis and cars.
A marina to serve small crafts for short cruise to Elephanta Caves and Mandwa may also be provided along the trestle.
The facilities will comprise of a berth which would have a size of 200 metre x 50 metre, a trestle having 15 metre width, mooring dolphins and walkways, a terminal building of suitable size on the berth, etc.

Maharashtra’s private port plan runs into rough weather

Mumbai Port Trust argues Rewas port will encroach its territory, pollute sea

RAKSHIT SONAWANE

Posted online: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at 0057 hours IST

MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 15: An ambitious Maharashtra government plan to develop a new privately run port to handle spiralling shipping traffic is being fiercely opposed by the 132-year-old Mumbai Port Trust.

The plan to develop the port of Rewas—about 10 nautical miles (16 km) south-east of Mumbai harbour—was strongly objected to by the Mumbai Port Trust in a recent meeting called by the Ministry of Shipping in New Delhi.

The Mumbai Port Trust was not told about the state government move to allot almost half of its territorial waters to Amma Lines, a private firm with which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2002. The Mumbai Port Trust got galvanised only now because another private port—Maharashtra’s first—in Dighi, 45 nautical miles (72 km) south of Mumbai just got environmental clearance.

‘‘We have strongly objected to the plan, which would lead to unhealthy competition in the harbour,’’ the secretary of the Mumbai Port Trust P Mohana Chandra said. ‘‘Besides, there should be a single controlling authority.’’

Apart from the parcelling of its territory, the Mumbai Port Trust contended that:

• The new private port would complicate port operations, since the new port’s territory would begin at the mouth of Mumbai port’s shipping channel.

• The operations would cause sea pollution

• There would be too much shipping capacity

The Mumbai Port Trust has also pointed out to the shipping ministry a policy document issued by the ministry in October 2004 that says: ‘‘No carving out of a minor port from the territorial limits of a major port... to avoid unhealthy competition.’’

Rewas port (proposed)

• 10 nm south-east of Mumbai port
• Draught upto 18 metres - 21 berths
• Estimated investment: Rs 4,500 crore
• Will handle mainly containers

Dighi port (proposed)
• 45 nm south of Mumbai port
• Draught: 11 m
• Six jetties
• Estimated investment: Rs 1,000 crore
• Will handle mainly bulk and liquid cargo

http://www.indianexpress.com/ieimages/pics/rewas-b.jpg

The territorial waters of Mumbai Port are spread over about 400 sq km.

Mumbai Port Trust Chief Engineer N M Purohit, who attended the Delhi meeting, argued it was ‘‘dangerous to have a private port in our neighbourhood’’.

Of course, there’s the Jawaharlal Nehru Port across the harbour, ‘‘but is our sister port, controlled by the government’’.

S R Kulkarni, a trustee, was perhaps the most direct in his objections. ‘‘It is going to have a major effect on us and will spell doom for our commercial interests,’’ he said.

However, the state’s Principal Secretary (Transport) R R Sinha—who recently sought voluntary retirement and was the deputy chairperson of the Mumbai Port Trust for six years till 2003—has rubbished the port’s claim.

‘‘The only reason they are opposing the new port is because they are scared of competition,’’ said Sinha. ‘‘It is illogical in the era of globalisation and when the country has a 6,000-km waterfront. The Trust can at least grant the right of way through its territorial waters for ships calling on Rewas.’’

The state is going ahead with the project. ‘‘Within six months, construction activity at Rewas will begin,’’ said K P Bakshi, chief executive officer of the Maharashtra Maritime Board, which is executing both the Rewas and Dighi projects.

The Board has started acquisition of 3,700 hectares of land for Rewas and begun work on rail and road connections. The Rewas project will cost Rs 4,500 crore and Dighi Rs 1,000 crore, Bakshi said.

The Rewas project has gained momentum at a time when both the Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru ports Trust are improving their draughts (depth) to accommodate larger vessels.

Mumbai port has a maximum draught of 10.7 m while Jawaharlal Nehru Port has a draught of 12.5 m, which is being deepened to 14.5 m in one year (at the cost of Rs 700 crore) and finally to 16.5 m.

The Rewas port would open with a draught of 13 m, which would be deepened to 18 m. That means Rewas would be able to handle some of the world’s largest container ships.

The Mumbai Port is also constructing an offshore container terminal to accommodate vessels too large for its 132 year-old lock-gate and the dock-basin.

Business plans for major ports (http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=10071)

The Government of India is drawing up a business plan to develop the 12 major ports to ensure commercial viability and sustainable development, and reduce dependence on government funds. Several major ports such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Kandla recently invited international consultants to submit proposals for the preparation of business plans for their respective ports. The ports have outlined a number of projects imperative to their growth.
The business plan is a part of the government's proposed mega-crore National Maritime Development Programme that envisages capacity improvement and hinterland connectivity projects across the major ports over a 10-year timeframe. The NMDP comprises schemes and projects for developing major ports, and shipping and inland water transport systems. A total of 228 projects have been identified for implementation in two phases in the ports through public-private participation. The total investment envisaged under this programme is more than Rs 61,100 crore.
The plan will be similar to a typical corporate business plan. It will state the management's long-term vision for the port, highlight and establish the goals to be achieved over the next seven years, identify the strategy to fulfil these goals, recommend a detailed plan of action to implement the strategy, and identify sources of financing for all proposed investments.
The plan will establish business development priorities for the port trust, provide a roadmap for maximising the commercial potential of the port, enable management to benchmark progress in achieving the goals and be updated annually to reflect evolving circumstances and developments. The plan will provide the foundation for institutionalising an annual planning process for reviewing, updating and modifying seven-year plans on a rolling basis.

Centre keen on port uplift (http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=10085)

The Centre is keen on developing the port, shipping and inland water transport sectors through PPP with an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore. The Union minister for shipping, road transport and highways, T.R. Baalu, said that his ministry was formulating a national maritime development programme by identifying specific projects and other measures necessary for the development.
The programme would be implemented through PPP involving an investment of Rs 60,000 crore in the port sector and Rs 40,000 crore in the shipping and inland water transport sector.
The public investment would be made primarily on the common user infrastructure facilities in the ports, like deepening and maintenance of port channels, construction of breakwaters, rail and road connectivity from ports to the hinterland. On the other hand, private investment would be primarily in commercial operations like construction, management and operation of berths and terminals in various ports.
The Centre is also considering declaration of three more waterways in addition to the existing three waterways as national waterways. The proposed three national waterways include East Coast Canal integrated with Brahmani and Mahanadi delta system.
The 623 km long inter-state inland waterway system located in Orissa and West Bengal will be declared as national waterway No-5. An estimated cost of infrastructure development of the waterway would be around
Rs 1,526 crore. The two proposed national waterways are Kakinada-Pondichery canal integrated with Godavari and Krishna in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and Barak river in Assam.
New projects are also being undertaken in the major ports for capacity expansion to match the anticipated traffic. These projects included an iron ore terminal and a clean cargo berth at Paradip port, a second container terminal in Chennai and Tuticorin ports and an offshore container terminal at Mumbai port. The bidding process for the Kandla container terminal has been completed.
There is also a proposal to take up the deepening of channels in Paradip port at an estimated cost of Rs 154 crore. This would enable the port to handle ships of 1.21 lakh dwt as against 65,000 dwt at present.
Recommendations to set up two international-size shipyards on the east and west coasts, constitute maritime boards, formulate a scheme to provide 33 per cent assistance up to Rs 100 crore for the development of minor ports have also been made.

I happened to see the World Port Rankings for 2003 (http://www.aapa-ports.org/pdf/WORLD_PORT_RANKINGS_2003.xls).

Nhava Sheva is the only port in India in world top 50 and ranks number 30 in container traffic. Colombo, Sri Lanka is the only other south Asian port and is ranked 39. In case of tonnage no Indian or South Asian port figures in the top 50.

Moment of Reckoning

With this DP World is going to be the dictator of ports in Asia. Already they control Hong Kong - worlds biggest container terminal.
This would also help Kochi's Vallarpadam transshipment terminal in that, DPW can now attract traffic in the whole South Asian ports by doling out concessions to shipping lines and preclude any possible competitor within a 1000 mile radius. This will be India's Gateway terminal and the biggest in South Asia.


Dubai Ports nets Indian box terminals thru P&O buy

Raja Simhan T.E.

Chennai , Nov 29

A MAJORITY of container shipping in India is set to come under the control of DP World, the global ports business of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Dubai, following its acquisition of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co (P&O), UK.

DP World and P&O issued a joint statement of the deal, which would create one of the world's largest shipping companies controlling container terminals in UK, China and India. Container shipping in India is thus set to witness a sea-change following this £3.33 billion (Rs 26,278 crore) deal.

Through this deal the Gulf-based company will have in its kitty India's three major container terminals: Nhava Sheva, Mumbai; Chennai Container Terminal, Chennai; and Mundra International Container Terminal, Gujarat; apart from a share in the Vishaka Container Terminal at Vishakapatnam.

Also, with the development of Vallarpadam Container Terminal by Dubai Ports in Kochi, a majority of the Indian container shipping is expected to be in the hands of the Gulf-State backed company, according to an industry source.

"Dubai Ports is going to rule the India container industry," the source said.

Mr Ennarasu Karunesan, Chief Executive Officer, Chennai Container Terminal said except for new ownership, there would be not any change in the container handling in Chennai.

"We need to wait for a while to know what is going to be the strategy of Dubai Ports," he told Business Line.

Against the total Indian container trade volumes of about 4.3 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) in 2004 P&O Ports handled about 2 million TEUs. "This shows P&O's strong presence, which would be transferred to Dubai Ports," said a source.

According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), an initiative of the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Confederation of Indian Industry, with 27 container terminals, logistics operations in over 100 ports and a presence in 18 countries, P&O entered India in 1996 with a seed capital of $250 million and has invested close to $800 million.

P&O Ports operates the Chennai Container Terminal Ltd (CCTL).

The Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal in Mumbai was the first port facility awarded to P&O by the Indian Government and was commissioned in early 1999. In 2004 it handled 12,14,473 TEUs, it said.

P&O Ports purchased the Mundra International Container Terminal container terminal at Mundra, Gujarat, from the Adani Group in May 2003. The terminal handled above 3,60,000 TEUs since commencing operations in July 2003, the IBEF said.

The three P&O terminals which together handle more than 2.2 million TEUs per annum, employ 1,300 people in India.

According to an official, there will not be any retrenchment of employees as the terminals are not overstaffed.

In fact, the business is growing and the new owner may have to recruit more people.

Last fiscal, all Indian ports together handled 4.23 million TEUs. This year, the traffic may exceed 4.5 million TEUs.

With Dubai emerging as the largest container terminal operator in India accoutring for close to 50 per cent of the country's traffic, the nature of competition in the port sector may under go a change, said an official with an Indian port.

The results of the bidding process for the Rs 4,500 crore Port project are to be announced in the coming weeks. The Technical Evaluation of the bids had been completed in November, with the Financial evaluation under way. With a natural depth of 18m (by far the deepest in India) and just 12 Kms from the main International Shipping routes, Vizhinjam is expected to be one of the main hubs of transshipment in India, taking over from Colombo and Dubai. The first Rs 1800 crore phase of the project is scheduled to commence in mid-2006 and complete in mid-2009. Bidders include leading Indian port construction firm Gammon Ltd and international marine construction giant, China Harbour Engineering Company. Stay tuned! :)

India Gateway's marketing strategy at Kochi paying off

V. Sajeev Kumar

Kochi , Dec. 16

THE marketing strategies adopted by India Gateway Terminal at the Kochi Port seems to have started yielding results, as evident from the increase in the number of vessels calling at the port in the recent period.

"There has been a 21 per cent increase in the number of container vessels calling at Kochi since we took over the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT) from the port in April this year," Mr Suresh Joseph, General Manager, DP World, told Business Line.

The current growth rate of containers to the port was seven per cent in the first eight months of this year, which is expected to touch a double-digit growth by next year, he said.

As against 208 vessels handled from April to November 2004, the number has gone up to 260 in the first eight months of this year. Last month alone, IGT handled 42 container vessels, the highest number ever handled.

The turnaround of vessels, which used to be in the range of 2.3 days during the time of Kochi Port Trust handling the terminal, has come down to 1.5 days, he said.

Mr Joseph said the terminal has been able to attract several mainline services to Kochi in its voyage.

The Far Shipping has started East African sailings with the introduction of IGX Service between Colombo and Dubai.

The vessel calls at Kochi both on East and the West bound sailings. IGT had also received a direct pendulum service between Kochi and Singapore, which offers Kochi a direct sailing to Singapore.

He pointed out that the direct sailings from East African ports to Kochi had already commenced and the company is also working on the modalities to start a direct sail to Europe and US East Coast.

In order to attract bigger vessels to the terminal, he said, steps have been taken to increase the draught in the channel.

To further boost exports of seafood from the port, IGT has set up 1,750 ground slots and 135 reefer points for the benefit of marine exporters, he said. Steps were on to enhance the reefer points by 150 by the next season.

The introduction of various measures, coupled with the implementation of NAVIS software to facilitate yard management and vessel planning, has also resulted in the increase of productivity.

The productivity of the rail-mounted gantry crane has increased by 20 per cent and mobile harbour cranes to 45 per cent.

To improve the availability of equipments , he said that the rail-mounted gantry crane and reach stackers would be further refurbished in the first quarter of 2006.

With the introduction of the new traffic management system, detention of trucks at the terminal entrance has been completely eliminated, he added.

Construction works on for India's sole transshipment hub :cheers:

PMO evinces keen interest in ICTT
Saturday December 17 2005 10:04 IST
New Ind Express

KOCHI: Principal Secretary to Prime Minister T.K.A.Nair will examine the progress of Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) and other maritime projects on December 24. Nair will be accompanied by senior officials from the state. His visit will add momentum to the state’s prestigious project.

Nair’s visit is a clear indication of the special interest the Prime Minister’s Office has in the ICTT project, claimed higher officials of the Cochin Port Trust (CPT). The recent confusion over the project because of the Railways’ unwillingness to lay a new line up to Vallarpadom will be brought to the notice of T.K.A.Nair. The CPT authorities expressed optimism that Southern Railway could be persuaded to take up the work by the intervention of the PMO.

Meanwhile, tenders for the reclamation work to construct a new road linking Vallarpadom to NH 17 have been called for. The present notification is to reclaim land by constructing a wall on the western shore of Mulavukad and Moolampilli islands. The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 10.39 crore to reclaim 40 hectares of land. The last date for submitting tenders is January 10.

The test piling work for ICCT started this week. Geo Foundation, which was authorised by the India gateway Terminal (IGT) to do test piling, started the construction of the approach road. Test piling to assess how deep the piling must be will take place next week, informed Suresh Joseph, general manager of IGT.

The other projects which are part of the Maritime Developmental project are the LNG terminal at Puthuvype, international bunkering terminal to refuel ships, international ship repair complex, international cruise terminal, port-based special economic zone, single point mooring for importing crude oil for KRL and common infrastructure projects to ensure road-rail connectivity and dredging navigational channel. T.K.A.Nair and team will analyse the progress of each one of these projects.

edited out

:)
Nik

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1339428.cms

Kerala to decide soon on Vizhinjam Port bids

Thiruvananthapuram | December 22, 2005 5:15:05 PM IST

The Kerala government will soon decide on one of the two bidders to develop a world-class port at Vizhinjam near Kovalam, state Ports Minister M.V. Raghavan said here Thursday."We are on course for this and early next month a final decision will be made as officials are going through the two tenders that were selected from 22 bids," Raghavan told reporters.

The Kerala cabinet had in August cleared the building of a trans-shipment terminal at Vizhinjam in three stages at a cost of Rs.43.6 billion ($963 million).

One of the selected bids is from a consortium of two Chinese firms and an Indian company, and the other from construction major Gammon India. "The financial assessment of these two bids is over and the technical aspect is being assessed. Next month, the financial bid also would take place," said Raghavan.

The biggest advantage that Vizhinjam has is that there is no need to dredge it. Its natural depth is 24 metres, deeper than most ports across the world. Also, the port lies very close to busy routes in international waters. The port is to be developed over 150 acres and there will be no displacement of the local fishing population. The first phase of the project is expected to cost Rs.18 billion.

When complete, Vizhinjam will lessen the need for big merchant vessels to berth at Colombo, Singapore and Dubai before their cargos are transferred to smaller ships to be brought to India.

Looks like things are finally speeding up. Vizhinjam is just what India needs to truely gain a strong position in international sea trade. Since no other Indian port is capable of handling the upcoming 8,500 TEU and bigger vessels (needing drafts of over 16-18m), Vizhinjam will be vital to India's foreign trade. It will help reduce dependence on ports like Dubai and Colombo, which these days is being operated by a monopoly firm.

In other news, GoK has started land acquisition of land for the Road and Rail connectivity for Vizhinjam under the Fast Track Projects scheme. The bids are now with L&T Ramboll, India's leading marine consultancy, for technical clearance, after financial clearance. :) Stay tuned!

Chinese consortium likely to ink Vizhinjam port deal on BOT model

M SARITA VARMA

Posted online: Friday, December 23, 2005 at 0147 hours IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC 22: A Chinese consortium - with Mumbai-based partner Zoom Developers in tow - is likely to sign the BOT (build, operate and transfer) contract for the construction of Vizhinjam port, slated to be the world's deepest port. Only two infrastructure players - Zoom Developers-backed Chinese consortium and Mumbai-based Gammon India - are in the final reckoning for the Rs 1850-crore Phase I of the Rs 4200-crore port.

After the techno-economic analysis of the bids, it is the Chinese group - including Kaidi Electric Power Co, Chinese Harbour Engineering Co and a Chinese construction firm and the Indian firm Zoom Developers- who enjoy the upper hand, sources told Financial Express. About 22 firms, including the UK-based Beckett Rankine, Marubeni Corporation (Japan), US-based Giss-Eta, New York-based First Wallstreet Group and Consortium, Ital-Thai development Company (Bangkok), Afcon Infrastructure (Mumbai), Malta-based Hili Company, Ahmedabad-based Adwani Ports and Essar Shipping, are among those who had picked up the RFQ (request for qualification) papers.

A study by L&T Ramboll works out at least Rs 1000 crore revenue, as soon as the first phase is completed in three years. Experts had projected 18-20% economic internal rate of return.

What spoiled the picnic for most of the infrastructure developers was when the Kerala government insisted on a 30-year BOT contract. Some early bidders, who had haggled for as high as a 100-year tenure, instantly backed out. The Chinese consortium, a mix of environmentally sensitive production experts and harbour-engineering experts with experience in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore ports, has made the technical grade, sources said. However, with the Kerala government toothcombing the terms and conditions spelt out by the two bids, the evaluation is yet to be final.

Contrary to the usual formula of 26% share for the government partner, the Kerala goverment, through the SPV (special purpose vehicle) Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd, has limited its stakes to 24% in the port venture. An election at hand, the Oommen Chandy government has handpicked Vizhinjam project among the 10 projects in fasttrack. "The bidder will be finalised by mid January and the work on Phase I will get going by mid-2006," MV Raghavan, state ministerfor ports, said.

As many as 61% of Indian export/import containers are transshipped through the ports of Colombo, Singapore and Salalah. This means that Indian exporters pay extra costs (freight costs at 11.4% of cost, insurance and freight- compared to world average of 6.1%).Vizhinjam deepwater international transshipmentterminal could trim these costs, forecasts a recent study by Container Shipment Economics. IL&FS and Hauer Associates, who executed the study, estimates that 1.35 - 1.60 million TEUs are likely to be diverted through Vizhinjam by 2016-1.

Union shipping minister TR Baalu is said to have voiced a conflict of interest between Vizhinjam and Sethusamudram projects initially, but had later the
ministry had backed it, pointing out that the competition is to Colombo and Singapore.

The Financial Express, Dec 23

A long but interesting article..

Only Rs 5,000 crore of private investment has come into the ports sector till date. But an unprecedented investment rush by corporates, Indian and foreign, is set to bring Rs 60,000 crore in the next 5 years. What makes Indian ports an attractive business?

Docking at port India (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=112353)

http://www.ernakulam.com/images/marine04_bg.gif

(Ack: www.ernakulam.com)

A mainline vessel at Cochin Port. There has been a 21 per cent increase in the number of mainline vessels to port, significant as Vallarpadam ICTT, India's sole transshipment hub is already under construction. Vallarpadam greenfield project is executed by Dubai Ports World, world's largest port operator. Its subsidiary India Gateway Terminal Ltd - IGTL -runs present port.

A good article on Mundra Port, talking about the port's aspiration to become India's leading harbour. The article says its container berths have a draft of upto 18m, the deepest in India right now. This means Mundra is the only operational port in India to be capable of handling real mainline vessels (3500 TEUs and more). Only the upcoming Vizhinjam project has a higher capacity. Mundra has also commissioned the country's first SBM. :)

Read the Article (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/26/stories/2005122601200600.htm)

Meanwhile here is an update on the Vallarpadam Terminal, where work is scheduled to start by April 2007. :)

Update (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/26/stories/2005122601091300.htm)

As construction works for Vallarpadam kicked off this week with test piling as mentioned here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=6657161&postcount=69) earlier, more good news follows on infrastructure... :)



Cochin Chamber hails budget allocation for road, rail links to Vallarpadam
Our Bureau
Kochi , Dec. 25 - The Hindu

THE Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed the decision by the Union Government to provide budgetary support for constructing the road and railway link to the proposed site of the International Container Transhipment Terminal on Vallarpadam Island.

Expressing satisfaction on the move, the Chamber felt that the Union Government had taken note of the project as of national importance taking into consideration its strategic importance.

It also appreciated the efforts being made by the State Chief Minister and the Chairman of the Cochin Port Trust in persuading the Union Government to provide sufficient support for the two crucial elements of the ICTT project.

As per the plans finalised by the port, various developmental projects to be taken up by the port will be completed between two-and-a-half years to four years.

The new ventures, including the ICTT and the ship repair facility, are expected to bring in a total investment of Rs 7,403 crore.

Of this, private investments will be to the tune of Rs 6,858 crore.

Besides, the Port is also looking at common infrastructure facilities like capital dredging that would be needed before the ICTT becomes a reality.

An investment of Rs 8,487 crore is needed for the purpose.

Building of the rail and rail link to ICTT project site are included in this.

The environmental clearance for the ICTT is expected before September next year while work on the transhipment terminal is expected to commence by April 2007.

According to the current schedule, the project will be commissioned by April 2009.

^^ - Good news. :) That's the same article I had linked to - so actual construction is scheduled for April 2007, rt? With about 24 months construction time for the first berth. :) Sounds good.

When piling works starts construction would actually start. It may be a few months. Vallarpadam will be commissioned at the latest by 2009 as required by the contract between CPT and DPW. The land acquisition for Rail link is the only thing left. It is expected to be over in 4 months. Since the dredging has started and road works will start in January, ICTT will be most likely ready before the 2009 deadline. :)

L&T bags Rs 411-cr Gangavaram project (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/28/stories/2005122802480200.htm)

The distinctiveness of this project is that it is a greenfield port, said Mr K.V. Rangaswami, Member of the Board as well as Senior Vice-President (Construction), L&T. Additionally, this is for the first time in India that an order for a 1.5-km-long berth has been released for construction in a single package, a company release said.

The contract, which was won amidst global competition, is for the first phase of a deep-water port project at Gagavaram, about 15 km, south of Vishakapatnam Port. This will be executed by L&T on Engineering Procurement Construction basis over 24 months from now, the release said.

(Lloyds List)A CHINESE consortium, which has roped in
the Mumbai-based Zoom Developers as a mandatory Indian
partner, is all set to sign the 30-year build,
operate, transfer concession for the construction of
Vizhinjam port, near Thiruvananthapuram in the
southern Indian state of Kerala.

Two infrastructure players the other being
Mumbai's Gammon India were in the final reckoning for
the Rs18.5bn ($407m) first phase of the Rs42bn port,
touted to have the world's deepest draught.

Earlier 22 players, including the UK-based Beckett
Rankine, Japan's Marubeni Corp, the US-based Giss-Eta,
the New York-based First Wall Street Group '
Consortium, Ital-Thai Development Co (from Bangkok),
Afcons Infrastructure and Essar Shipping (both
Mumbai), Adani Ports (from Ahmedabad) and the
Malta-based Hili Co, had picked up the request for
qualification papers.

The Chinese group, which includes Kaidi Electric Power
Co, Chinese Harbour Engineering Co and Zoom
Developers, are expected to be awarded the contract.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/dec/1242683.htm

^^ - Awesome news, mate! :cheers: Finally, a world-class deep draught port for India and that too located right on the main international shipping lanes!

The only other Indian port in the same class is Mundra, which has a maximum depth of 18m. This Adani-Group operated port already plans to handle 100 million tons within the next 6-10 years. And it is about 1000 Km from the international shipping lanes.

Vizhinjam, which already has a 18m draught and a maximum of upto 25 m, is less than 20 Km from the main Suez Canal-Persian Gulf-Malacca lanes! Think of the possibilities! :D

L&T bags Rs 411-cr Gangavaram project

Our Bureau

Mumbai , Dec. 26

LARSEN & Toubro has won a project worth Rs 411 crore from Gangavaram Port Ltd.

The distinctiveness of this project is that it is a greenfield port, said Mr K.V. Rangaswami, Member of the Board as well as Senior Vice-President (Construction), L&T. Additionally, this is for the first time in India that an order for a 1.5-km-long berth has been released for construction in a single package, a company release said.

The contract, which was won amidst global competition, is for the first phase of a deep-water port project at Gagavaram, about 15 km, south of Vishakapatnam Port. This will be executed by L&T on Engineering Procurement Construction basis over 24 months from now, the release said. Apart from offshore works, L&T will also execute some of the onshore civil works.

Deep-water ports will rule the business soon, considering the increasing size of vessels used in international trade. VLCCs/ULCCs require draughts of 18-24 m while the biggest container ships u/c and under design will require 16-18m, which no current port other than Mundra can hope to offer. :)

India to spend $22 bn to double port capacity (http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=113047)

India will spend 1 trillion rupees ($22 billion) in the next six years on maritime development to cater to increased demand.

The money will be spent by 2011-2012, said a press release issued by the shipping ministry in New Delhi today. India wants to more than double its port capacity to 820 million tons a year from 397.5 million tons now, the ministry said.

India, which will spend 558 billion rupees on port modernization by 2012, wants to set up two new shipyards for 71.95 billion rupees.

State-owned Shipping Corp. of India may buy 150 billion rupees of vessels, the ministry said, without elaborating.

Singapore-owned freight terminal sets record in India
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1587825,00020015.htm

A Singapore-owned freight terminal has set a new productivity record in India by moving containers off a ship at an average rate of 103 an hour, a media report said on Monday.

Tuticorin Container Terminal (TCT), majority-owned by PSA International, set the record on December 21 when it cleared the Evergreen Marine vessel Hatsu Prima.

The slow clearance of container terminals has been a major challenge facing Indian port operators, analysts said.

Tuticorin is one of the fastest-growing container ports in India and is well connected by road and rail to industrial centres such as Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore and Madurai.

It also has direct shipping services to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and China, and feeder connections to Singapore, Colombo and Salalah in Oman.

Hutchison in joint bid for Mumbai port - paper

http://in.news.yahoo.com/060104/137/61u9s.html

Panel recommends Chinese consortium offer

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The committee chaired by Chief Secretary M. Vijayanunni is understood to have recommended the Chinese consortium's offer for the construction of a port at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The consortium consists of the Kaidi Electric Power Company, the Chinese Government-owned Chinese Harbour Engineering Company and Zoom Developers of Mumbai. The other members of the committee are Principal Secretary for Finance K. Jose Cyriac, Adviser to the Government Babu Jacob, Secretary for Ports L. Radhakrishnan and CEO of the Vizhinjam project Jayakumar. The Government is likely to take a decision within a week.

The Hindu, Jan 8

India to spend $22 bn to double port capacity (http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=113047)

Thiru. T. R. Baalu, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways released the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP) formulated by the Department of Shipping here today. The Programme which aims at focused and accelerated investment in specific infrastructure including port infrastructure, tonnage acquisition and institutional capacity building projects/schemes has been set on course with the finalization of the list of projects to be taken up for integrated development of maritime sector over a period upto 2011-12. The list comprises a total of 387 projects covering the entire gamut of activities that need to be undertaken to ensure that the maritime sector positions itself to meet the challenges arising out of India’s emerging global aspirations. After taking over charge of the Ministry, the Minister had desired that a Policy and Programme for ensuring accelerated development of the sector in a coordinated manner be prepared.


The Government has fixed an ambitious target of US$ 150 billion for exports by the year 2008-09 to double India’s share in world exports from 0.8% to 1.5%. Indian Maritime Sector which provides for transportation of export cargo with ports providing the platform for about 95% of India’s global merchandise trade by volume and 70% by value, therefore, need to expand its capacity and modernize its infrastructure.


Keeping in view the present trends, it is estimated that the Indian ports will have to handle cargo traffic of 800 million tonnes by 2011-12. The share of the 12 major ports is expected to be about 73% of this volume i.e. about 584 Million Tonnes. The aggregate capacity in major ports at present is 397.50 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). For congestion free movement of traffic through our major ports, it is estimated that their aggregate capacity should be enhanced to 820 MTPA by 2011-12. The National Maritime Development Programme seeks to achieve the goal through implementation of projects for construction of berths, jetties, etc. (76 projects), deepening of port channels for improvement in draught (25 projects), procurement, replacement and upgradation of port equipment (52 projects), projects for improving port connectivity to its hinterlands (45 projects) and other related schemes/projects like improvement in storage capacities, internal circulation systems (78 projects). The total investment envisaged under the Programme in Port Sector is Rs.55804 crores to be implemented through public private partnership (PPP) in two phases. Phase-I comprises of works under implementation as on 1st April, 2005 and those expected to be started during the period from 1st April, 2005 to 31st March, 2007 and works which though likely to start after 31st March, 2007, but are expected to be completed by 31st March, 2009. Phase-II includes projects to be taken up by 2011-12.


Public investment will be primarily for common user infrastructure facilities like deepening of port channels, construction of breakwaters, internal circulation systems of cargo within the ports, rail and road connectivity, etc. Private investments are planned in areas where operations are primarily commercial in nature like construction, management and operation of berths, terminal, etc.


In Phase-I of Port Sector, a total of 180 projects involving an estimated investment of Rs.31,971 crores will be taken up. Out of this, it is planned to provide budgetary support of Rs.1350 crores while Rs.8991 crores are expected to be raised by the major ports from their internal resources. Private investment involved in this phase will be Rs.19112 crores while the balance Rs.2518 crores is expected to come from the National Highways Authority of India, Railways and other organizations. Aggregate capacity in the major ports at the conclusion of Phase-I is expected to be 652.30 MTPA. Major projects identified in this phase are as under:-


(i) Third container terminal at Jawarharlal Nehru Port (estimated investment Rs.900 crores). (Has since been approved by the Government and is under implementation).

(ii) International Container Transhipment Terminal at Cochin Port (estimated investment Rs.2118 crores; Phase-I – Rs.600 crores). (Has since been approved by the Government and is under implementation).

(iii) Offshore container berths (2 nos.) at Mumbai Port (estimated investment Rs.1165 crores).

(iv) Container terminal at Kandla Port (estimated investment Rs.330 crores).

(v) Second container berth at Tuticorin Port (estimated investment Rs.150 crores).

(vi) Second Container Terminal at Chennai Port (estimated investment Rs.495 crores).

(vii) Container Terminal at Ennore Port (estimated investment Rs.1000 crores).

(viii) Iron ore berth at Ennore Port (estimated investment Rs.350 crores).

(ix) Iron Ore and Coal Berths at Paradip Port (estimated investment Rs.328 crores).

(x) Clean cargo berth at Paradip Port (estimated investment Rs.138 crores).

(xi) Coal berths at Ennore Port (estimated investment Rs.300 crores).

(xii) Iron Ore facilities at New Mangalore Port (estimated investment Rs.150 crores).

(xiii) Construction of 4 cargo berths at Kandla Port (estimated investment Rs.430 crores).

(xiv) Construction of two berths at Visakhapatnam Port (estimated investment Rs.85 crores).

(xv) Captive Coal Berth at New Mangalore Port (estimated investment Rs.180 crores).

(xvi) Deepening and widening of channel project at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (estimated cost Rs.800 crores).

(xvii) Deepening of channel project at Paradip Port (estimated cost Rs.154 crores).

(xviii) River Regulatory Measures for improvement of draught in Hooghly Estuary of Kolkata Port (estimated cost Rs.385 crores).

(xix) Deepening of channel for International Container Transhipment Terminal at Cochin Port (estimated cost Rs.379 crores).

(xx) Capital dredging for new berths in Ennore Port (estimated cost Rs.90 crores).

(xxi) Deepening of navigational channel in Kandla Port (estimated cost Rs.87 crores).

(xxii) Development of additional link road from port junction to the industrial bypass road at Visakhapatnam Port (estimated cost Rs.95 crores).

(xxiii) Northern port access of 9 kms to Ennore Port (estimated cost Rs.60 crores).

(xxiv) Dedicated elevated corridor on NH-4 from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal (estimated cost Rs.400 crores).

(xxv) National Highway Connectivity to International Container Transhipment Terminal at Cochin Port (estimated cost Rs.350 crores).

(xxvi) Rail Connectivity to International Container Transhipment Terminal at Cochin Port (estimated cost Rs.125 crores).

(xxvii) Road connectivity to Mangalore Port (estimated cost Rs.896 crores).

(xxviii) Rail connectivity between Wadala and Kurla at Mumbai Port (estimated cost Rs.126 crores).

(xxix) Road improvements outside Mumbai Port Estate (estimated cost Rs.167 crores).

(xxx) Improvement in road connectivity from Jawaharlal Nehru Port to NH-4B and SH-54-Amra Marg (estimated cost Rs.357 crores). (Has since been approved by the Government and is under implementation).

(xxxi) Road connectivity to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (estimated cost Rs.300 crores).

(xxxii) Construction of second link road to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (estimated cost Rs.168 crores).

(xxxiii) Mechanised cargo handling facilities at general cargo berth at outer harbour of Visakhapatnam Port (estimated cost Rs.50 crores).

(xxxiv) Modernisation of Chennai Port (estimated cost Rs.200 crores).

(xxxv) Creation of additional open storage yards by reclamation at Chennai Port (estimated cost Rs.200 crores).

(xxxvi) Installation of wagon handling system at Mormugao Port (estimated investment Rs.80 crores).

(xxxvii) Modernisation of cargo handling equipment at Mumbai Port (estimated cost Rs.115 crores).


As regards investment in Shipping/IWT sector under NMDP, a total of 111 projects will entail an investment of Rs.44535 crore [Rs.13775 crore budgetary support, Rs.17460 IEBR (internal and extra budgetary resources)] upto 2024-25. The break up is as under:

(i) Tonnage Acquisition by SCI(76 vessels) – Rs. 15000 crore
(ii) Maritime Training: Maritime University and Acquisition of Training Ships – Rs. 700 crore
(iii) Coastal Shipping: Coastal Shipping Development Fund and Centrally Sponsored Scheme for promotion of Coastal Shipping – Rs. 10500 crore
(iv) Aids to Navigation: Vessel Traffic Service for the Gulf of Kachchh, Vessel Traffic Service for the Gulf of Khambat, Improvement of Aids to Navigation, Automation of Lighthouses, Establishment of shore based AIS, Establishment of static sensors at strategic locations, Establishment of new lighthouses, Procurement of Lighthouse Tender Vessel, Long Range Tracking of Vessel, Establishment of Racons – Rs 640 crore.
(v) Shipbuilding: Revival of HSL, Revival of HDPEL, Augmentation of facilities in CSL, Strengthening of NSDRC, Setting up of two international size shipyards – Rs. 7195 crore
(vi) Inland Water Transport: Making existing 3 National Waterways (NWs) fully functional, 3 new NWs, Development of State Waterways, Vessels for modal shift, viability gap for modal shift – Rs. 10,500 crore.

Finalisation of the projects under National Maritime Development Programme heralds a new chapter in maritime transport infrastructure planning to which the Government attaches the highest importance. This Programme renews commitment of the Government towards achieving the goals set out in the Programme with the close cooperation of all the stakeholders both within and outside the Government.

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=14674

Yup... that's the comprehensive list of future Indian Ports. Thanx Wick

Literaly making a sea change :D

I think the biggest port in the world has 20m depth, and can bearly fit the largest cargo vessels in that depth by dredging the seabed - it would put India in a truely unique position if it had a similar depth port.

I think the biggest port in the world has 20m depth, and can bearly fit the largest cargo vessels in that depth by dredging the seabed - it would put India in a truely unique position if it had a similar depth port.

There are many ports coming up in that range. I know that Chennai port already has 17-18 mtr depth. All the upcoming major ports in the list above new terminals at JNPT, Vallarpadam will have the same depth. Major ports like Antwerp have just 15 mtr depth. But they are far busier than many which are deep. Even when the future vessels start plying there will be very few of them which require 17 m draft. Today's biggest one requires 14 mtr draft.

@ Vaastushaastra - You are correct in saying that India needs a deep draught port desperately. With ships getting bigger and bigger, India needs a super-port to become a world leader in trade. Here is my fact-based $ 0.02:

- The argument for using bigger ships is simple. It is cheaper to carry cargo in larger ships than in smaller ones. For example, it is about 20-30% cheaper to move crude oil in supertankers (300,000 DWT+) than in smaller tankers. And the same applies for container ships as well. The largest container ships today, in the 8000-9000 TEU class are much cheaper than the earlier 4500 TEU vessels (upto 20%). No wonder companies are now looking at 12500 TEU and even 16000 TEU vessels. 9-10,000 TEU vessels are already under construction at the Hyundai and Samsung shipyards.

- Already 30% of the world's vessels are Post-Panamax (too big to fit through the Panama Canal). The share of Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS) will be even higher in a decade or so from now. The bulk of the long distance trade in the world will be on giant ships. Lloyd's Register Article (http://www.lr.org/news/articles/shipping_world_&_shpbdlr_oct03_2.htm)

- With size, draught also increases. Today's Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCCs) - supertankers of more than 300,000 DWT - have draughts of 22-25m. In terms of container ships, draughts are as follows:

Panamax - 12 m
Post Panamax - 14 m (Maersk S - class and Samsung 9000 TEU)
Suez-Max - 17-18m
Malacca Max - 21 m (See the Size Chart) (http://www.americanshipper.com/paid/MAY01/chart_containership_escalation.asp)

We should note that to handle these ships, a port needs to have 1-2 m clearance , so its depth should be draught+2 m. Also ships tend to "squat" in shallow water, increasing effective draught by upto 10%.

- From this, it is absolutely clear that the world's leading container hubs need to have drafts of atleast 18 m and possibly as much as 23 m to accomodate these giants!

- The world over ports are trying hard to meet this challenge. Older ports like Rotterdam and Los Angeles have begun $ multi-billion deepening programmes.China is building Tungshang - a deep water port located about 20 Kms out at sea! It is also planning a similar port in the Caribbean.

- Shallower ports like New York, Antwerp, Mumbai and so on are now adopting transshipment - where cargo is loaded on to/unloaded from smaller ships and then transferred to and from larger vessels at deeper ports - Transshipment Hubs.

(Read More) (http://www.oas.org/cip/eng/Mexico/EstrategiaMundialsectorMaritimo.htm)

- Sadly, India has lacked a true deep water port and hence has been forced to depend on ports like Colombo, Dubai and Salaleh. It is estimated upto half of Colombo's business is from transshiping Indian cargo!

- As of now the only deep water port in India is the Adani-owned Mundra Port, in Gujarat. Recently, it was announced that at 17 m , it was the deepest port in India. Some ports like Mumbai's JNPT and Vizag are undertaking costly dredging to reach 14-15 m, but this doesn't put them in the same league at all.

- One real hope lies with the upcoming , Vizhinjam Deep Water Transshipment Terminal near Trivandrum. A consortium led by one of the world's leading port builders, the China Harbour Engineering Company, is slated to execute the Rs 4,200 crore BOT project starting from May 2006.

Vizhinjam has a natural depth of 18 m. It is also capable of being comparitively easily deepened to 25m, with a one-time dredging exercise. This makes it capable of handling any ship in the world. :)

- Compared to other ports in India, Vizhinjam scores quite a few advantages, as has been reported earlier on this forum:

* Natural depth of 18 m (and 23 m at 1 Nautical mile from shore)

* Negligible littoral drift which removes the need for costly maintenance dredging (a necessity in most other ports like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi etc)

* Proximity to International Shipping Lanes - Vizhinjam lies only 20 nautical miles from the main Suez/Gulf - Malacca lanes, which carry a large portion of the world's trade. It is the closest port to these lanes, next being Tuticorin.

* There are 4-5 major ports in a 1000 Km radius which could serve as feeder ports.

* Lies just a few Kms from one of the country's leading beach destinations - Kovalam-Poovar, making it the best possible cruise destination in conjunction with its location which makes it attractive as a stop for cruise ships sailing on the international lanes. :)

Vizhinjam scores over Mundra in terms of its location. Mundra is already planning to be one of India's top ports by leveraging its depth advantage. The Adanis plan to handle as much as 100 million tons in 8-10 years!

Imagine the possibilities of Vizhinjam.:D It will be a boon to our economy:

* It will save upto Rs 1000 crores of foreign exchange, at current volumes. Remember that Indian cargo volumes are set to explode in the next few years!

* It will make Indian exports and imports cheaper and easier.

So here is looking foward to true deep water ports in India in the next 4-5 years! :cheers:

Thanks Ajay, that is a really informative post. Brushed up my entire shipping knowledge.

I always seem to confuse myself between Vizhinjam and Vallarpadam port projects.
What i do seem to realize is that the Trivandrum group claims Vizhinjam, Vallarpadam is claimed by the Kochi group.
So Vizhinjam is a deep-water, transshipment terminal, while Vallarpadam is a container transshipment hub.
I am still trying to figure out the differences between the two. :bash:

To learn about Vallarpadam it is pretty easy, Just click on http://www.cochinport.com. There is a PDF file which gives the progress.

Dubai Ports World (DPW) handles the porject. Work is already on. It will have a 17 mtr depth initially. When extended to PuthuVype area, one can attain upto 21 mtr. This will be the India's only Transshipment hub for the future, directly under the monitoring of PMO. However this is much more than transshipment.
There is,

**Exclusive crude handling facility SBM in the sea handled by Kochi Refineries. This means, no other port in the South West will handle crude other than Kochi.

**A huge Ship Building/Repair Complex worth 2200 cr.

** LNG terminal (Only one for Kerala)

** Cost of construction is minimal as no breakwater is required.

** Just 12 nautical miles from Int'l shipping channel

Moreover Cochin alone generates a good amount of cargo for the port. This is why world's biggest port
operator DPW took over the project under BOT for 38 years offering a whopping never-before 33.33% revenue share for Cochin Port.
DPW take over send shivers in nearby ports that SriLanka contacted PMO requesting help as
Vallarpadam is threatening to finish their business.

It also made other established port operators shy away from
many projects proposed nearby, already in lurch, which ended up with no bidders other than some
fringe "Tom developers" "Dick constructions" & "Harry Builders" making consortium (still not able to finance the project, with a big viability gap).

In fact none is surprised in shipping circles, as Cochin heads to become the shipping hub of South Asia
in 21st century.

It also made other established port operators shy away from
many projects proposed nearby, already in lurch, which ended up with no bidders other than some
fringe "Tom developers" "Dick constructions" & "Harry Builders" making consortium (still not able to finance the project, with a big viability gap).



:ohno: Not again....

Congrats Kerala! Good to see our neighbour to the West making such progress.

Thanks Ajay, that is a really informative post. Brushed up my entire shipping knowledge.

I always seem to confuse myself between Vizhinjam and Vallarpadam port projects.
What i do seem to realize is that the Trivandrum group claims Vizhinjam, Vallarpadam is claimed by the Kochi group.
So Vizhinjam is a deep-water, transshipment terminal, while Vallarpadam is a container transshipment hub.
I am still trying to figure out the differences between the two. :bash:

Thanks Kronik, always happy to share info, buddy! :)

About Vizhinjam:

- It is located about 15-20 Km from the city centre of Trivandrum.

- It has a natural depth of 18 m at 500 m from shore and 23 m at 1-2 km from shore. This means Capital Dredging requiring hundreds of crores can be avoided.

- It has minimal littoral drift, which means annual maintenance dredging can be avoided. Littoral deposition is a major problem especially at riverine or estuarine ports like Kolkata or Cochin, which have to struggle to maintain depths of 10-12 m.

- Vizhinjam is being initially developed as a Container Transshipment Terminal and Cruise Terminal. But it can be extended to receive general cargo and bulk cargo like crude oil.

- Single Buoy Moorings are put up at ports like Mundra and Cochin since they have no hope of handling ULCCs which have drafts of upto 25 m. Off-shore ship-to-ship transfer is done at Sandheads, near Kolkata due to the same reason. Vizhinjam can easily accomodate ULCCs.
So instead of spending upto Rs 700 crores for an SBM, an on-shore terminal with much higher throughput can be built for a fraction of that cost. Unlike an SBM, such a terminal can provide transshipment services to multiple ports and is also not affected by inclement weather. Such an on-shore terminal is also planned at Vizhinjam. With advent of the Sethusamudram Canal, Vizhinjam could handle crude for ports from Mangalore to Vizag! :)

- The construction of the Rs 4200 crore BOT project will be handed over to a international consortium led by leading international port builders - China Harbour Engineering Company. (Forumers will know the Rs 1,300 crore Bandra-Worli Sealink, CEHC is the technical and project management partner in this landmark project. They were called in due to their vast expertise in marine engineering) This multi-billion dollar giant has built hundreds of berths, and has worked to build some of the world's leading ports - at Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Their credentials are beyond question. :) Construction of the terminal will commence in mid-2006 and Phase I will be operational in 2009.

- The GoK will provide a soft loan and infrastructure support to the tune of Rs 350 crores. This will be funded by GoI under the NMDP, as Vizhinjam is a Greenfield Project.

- In Phase I, Vizhinjam will have about 1.5 Km of quay length and will have 2 main berths and 3-4 feeder berths. It will be capable of catering to vessels of 8500-9000 TEU. In subsequent phases in the next 2-3 years, the port would expand to 3.5 Km of quays and be capable of handling vessels of upto 12500 TEU.

Here is a comparitive study done of various current and upcoming Container Terminals by leading marine consultants, L&T Ramboll:

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4829/table6kt.png (http://imageshack.us)

About Vallarpadam[/B]:

- [B]Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (VICTT) is a part of Cochin Port. Located at Puthuvypen it will cater only to container traffic.

- VICTT was won by Dubai Ports (now DP World). The only other bidder at the time was finance firm IL&FS. One condition was that DPW also gets to operate the existing container terminal at Cochin, before starting work on VICTT in 2007. The first phase will have about 600 m of quay length. :)

- Also, GoK, CPT and GoI would carry out capital dredging for VICTT to some 12-14 m depth.This would cost about Rs 460 crores. Details of this at Indian Port Association (http://www.ipa.nic.in/deve1.htm) They would also provide all transport infrastructure till the site. This will cost abt Rs 500 crores.Read Details at the Official GoK site (http://www.keralacm.gov.in/newsprojects.html) DP World will be a terminal operator and pays only for actual construction.

- In addition to costly capital dredging, the VICTT will also have to conduct annual maintenance dredging. Cochin Port Trust conducts this now. In fact, there was a major crisis last year when the dredger carrying out the job was put out of action after colliding with a bridge.

- The VICTT is about 200 Km from the main (Gulf-Malacca) International shipping lanes.

- It is designed to have a maximum draft of 14 m and be capable of handling ships upto 8000 TEUs.

- The fact that DP World also operates Colombo and Dubai container terminals, which are direct competitors to VICTT has been raised as a matter of concern in shipping circles. Read the details at Business Line (http://www.blonnet.com/2005/12/19/stories/2005121900080600.htm) Hope it doesn't turn out that way...:)

I hope you have a better idea about these two important projects, Kronik? :) Do revert if you need any more info.

Thanks Amrita....looks like Kerala and TN will be able to utilise their geographic advantages, especially with the Sethusamudram Project.

I think we should all be happy that two such mega projects are getting built in Kerala! In the end it is the whole state and the whole country that benefits too!

:)

^^ - Spot on, Sun! :) Even with Vizhinjam's planned capacity of 4-6 million TEUs and Vallarpadam's 3 million TEUs, we will be nowhere close to meeting the demand of the mighty Indian economy. To get a fair comparison, it has been estimated that by 2015, China will be handling 130 million TEUs!!!. Even if India does half that (which itself is quite conservative), that means 60-70 million TEUs!!!. We need a lot more capacity! :)

In case some of you are wondering, I have deleted some posts which were not in the spirit of this forum.

Please do not spoil the spirit of the forum by getting personal or trying to prove someone wrong beyond a limit of decency.

This is not the place for a slanging match.

Any further problems will be dealt with strictly as I have received lots of complaints from fellow forumers that the whole city vs city issue is going out of hand.

I hope this warning drives home the message because previous messages didn't seem to have the desired effect.

Sun

How is it that people can post
graffitis of mis-information and get away with it ??? If there were any lines personal
you could have deleted it. I never named anyone or crossed the thin grey line.

It is a known fact that the above author is parochially biased and motivated hence.
If you are deleting my posts it amounts to merely taking sides. And the the deliberately fudged data
stays in posts ? For example: Kindly see the international shipping channel. It is patent to anyone that what the previous graffiti claims is a lie. But my post which exposed this is deleted. This not the first time this has happened. Suncity himself has removed the above authors posts from some threads for such activities !!!

I reiterate that the above graffiti on Vallarpadam fudges facts for political reasons and spread misinformation. I had pointed it out in the post which was removed.

I would like to inform forumers the reality about Vallarpadam project in view of the increasing number of charlatan posts and I post the same lines at this site (http://www.malayalavedhi.com/wbboard/thread.php?threadid=4434&boardid=8&styleid=2&sid=1316ad40ad08f0583fde3c74462e7084)

Here is CPT Vallarpadam Plan (http://www.cochinport.com/pdf/perfm_n.pdf) straight from Cochin Port Trust website as there are questions about Vallarpadam raised here. Kindly compare with the previous post and see how facts have been mistated just to claim non-extant
advantage for the putative Vizhinjam project.

I also request the moderators to have a policy to deal with posting false statement, independent of who does it. This is considered to be a fraud in any walk of life, and if not dealt with sternly here will bring down the credibility of Indian thread as such.

^^ - Good time pass ain't it? :D :jk:

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Shipping and chemicals group Aspo has ordered two new ice-strengthened dry cargo ships from the Indian ABG Shipyard Ltd., an investment worth 50 million euros ($60.31 million), Aspo said on Monday.

The vessels, which will operate in the Baltic Sea, will be delivered in 2008 and 2009, Aspo said in a statement.

"The vessel investment will be financed with cash, loans and with the revenue from the sale of current fleet assets," Aspo said.

Aspo said a similar ship, ordered from China at the end of 2003, was about to be delivered in January 2006.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/060116/137/6210r.html

Thiruvananthapuram: After months of uncertainty, a project to set up a world-class port at Vizhinjam near Kovalam in Kerala has been cleared. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to lay the foundation stone next month.

Speaking to reporters here Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the cabinet has cleared the project and that the port would be built by a consortium of two Chinese and one Indian companies.

"The prime minister is visiting Kerala early next month and we are trying to include the foundation stone laying function in his busy schedule," said Chandy.
The port would be built near the tourist destination of Kovalam under the BOT scheme.

It would be built in three phases, with the first phase costing Rs.18.50 billion, the second phase Rs.9.90 billion and the third phase Rs.15.20 billion.

According to the report cleared by the cabinet, the port will be built by a consortium of three companies: the Mumbai-based Zoom Developers, Kaidi Electric Power Company China and China Harbour Engineering Company.

The three companies would run the port for 30 years and then hand it over to the state government.

A major advantage Vizhinjam has over all other ports in India is that it needs no dredging. The natural depth at Vizhinjam is 24 meters, by far the best in comparison to all other ports in the world.

^^ .....let the celebrations begin! :cheers: Btw, in case anyone has doubts about the consortium, why not check out the web site of the construction giant China Harbour Engineering Company? Check out the Site (http://www.chec.bj.cn/eout/zgjs/jtjj.jsp?sk_id=010100)

Some of the salient features are:

- It has an asset base of $ 3.7 billion and an annual turnover of $ 2.8 billion.

- Its fleet included over 800 dredgers and marine equipment and over 2700 heavy land based assets.

- One of its subsidiaries is the world's leading maker of quay-side container cranes.

- Specialist in deepwater construction.

India's first port SEZ okayed at Vallarpadam, with investments worth Rs 14000 cr.

Centre notifies port-based economic zone

Staff Reporter

BTP berth to be revamped in 10 months

KOCHI: The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued notifications approving the setting up of a port-based Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Vallarpadam and Puthuvype, within the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) area.

The notifications for the two locations have been made separately and pave the way for the first port-based SEZ in the country. READ MORE (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=7052942&postcount=55)

http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=KOCHI&file_name=KOCHI12%2Etxt&counter_img=12


Pioneer News Service/ Thiruvananthapuram

The Kerala Cabinet has decided to award the contract for the construction of the Vizhinjam International Transshipment Container Terminal to a consortium of three companies. Disclosing this here on Wednesday after a Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the tender submitted by the Chinese consortium was found to be more advantageous for the project and the State.

A consortium of Mumbai-based Zoom Developers and two Chinese companies - Kaidi Electric Power Company and China Harbour Engineering Company - is likely to sign the contract early next month. The contract for the port, which is considered to be the deepest in the world, will be on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

Mr Chandy said that the State Government had requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to lay the foundation stone for the container terminal on February 3.

After the techno-economic analysis of the bids, the Chinese bidding was found to be more beneficial for the State and the project. The Chinese consortium, experts in harbour and engineering with experience in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore ports, qualified based on the technical grade.


The Government will sign the agreement at the earliest and work on the project will commence by the middle of this year. If everything goes as per schedule, the project will go on stream in 2009. The project, which will be a joint venture between the State Government and private promoters, is proposed to be implemented in three phases at a total cost of Rs 4,400 crore.

Of this, the first phase, for which the tenders have been received now, will cost Rs 1,850 crore. The second and third phase of the project is expected to cost Rs 990 crore and Rs 1,520 crore respectively.

The State Government's equity in the joint venture would be 24 per cent, in which non-resident Keralites and government institutions would be able to become stakeholders. At a debt-equity ratio of 1: 1.5, the State's share in the equity of the joint venture would be around Rs 180 crore in the first phase.

The State Government has already floated a company, Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd, for developing the basic infrastructure for the project, such as roads, railway line, water supply, and electricity. The total outlay for establishing these facilities has been placed at Rs 80 crore.

KSINC to tie up with Mumbai co

Thursday January 19 2006 11:33 IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was put in deep-freeze so many times that it has assumed the proportions of a sailor’s yarn. But the proposed Vizhinjam-Colombo ship service has encountered favourable winds now with a prospective partner approaching the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC).

A Mumbai-based shipping company has evinced interest for a tie-up with the KSINC for running the ship service, a proposal first mooted by the KSINC three years ago.

Mumbai firm Sam Link Shipping has approached the KSINC and held preliminary discussions.

Its officials have also visited Vizhinjam, KSINC managing director K.N.Satish told this website's newspaper .

Sam Link, which currently operates a Dahej-Mumbai service, will provide the vessel and crew. KSINC will act as the shipping agent. ‘‘Our idea is to conduct 2-3 trips a week. The vessel can hold 700 passengers and the trip will take around 12 hours at eighteen knots,’’ he said.

Ticket rates have been tentatively fixed at Rs 6,000 for the round trip.

A one-way trip will cost between Rs 3,000 and 3,500.

‘‘This includes up to 100 kg of cargo which is a definite advantage over the flights,’’ he added.

KSINC first came up with the proposal in 2003 as part of its plans to diversify into tourism and cargo transportation.

The reasoning was that the ferry would be feasible as air rates were higher.

KSINC also had its eye on cargo transport to Colombo. In 2004, KSINC signed an MoU with Golden Cruise Line, a Sri Lanka-based shipping firm.

But the deal ran into unexpected rough weather when the Director General of Shipping refused to issue an NoC.

KSINC is still in the dark as to the exact reasons for the rejection. KSINC had also faced problems locating a suitable vessel.

Following this, the MoU with the Golden Cruise Line was put on hold.

Meantime, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa had put her foot down on a Tuticorin-Colombo service citing security reasons.

But the KSINC has not received any similar reasons from the DG Shipping or the Home Ministry, Satish said.

:Kerala's Vizhinjam port to be ready for operation 2010
Thiruvananthapuram: The first phase of the proposed Rs.43.60-billion Vizhinjam port in Kerala will be ready for operation in 2010.

Ports Minister M.V. Raghavan said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would on Feb 3 lay the foundation of the port to be built over a 150-acre area near Kovalam. "The port would be built by a consortium of two Chinese and one Indian companies under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme. It would be constructed in three phases, the first phase costing Rs.18.50 billion, the second phase Rs.9.90 billion and the third phase Rs.15.20 billion," said Raghavan.

The three companies are the Mumbai-based Zoom Developers, Kaidi Electric Power Company of China and China Harbour Engineering Company. The three will run the port for 30 years and then hand it over to the state government.
The third phase will be completed by 2017 and then the port will be able to handle 4.10 million containers annually.

A major advantage Vizhinjam has over all other ports in India is that it needs no dredging. The natural depth at Vizhinjam is 24 metres - by far the best in comparison to all other ports in the world.

The state government would bring in Rs.1.78 billion by way of equity, as it would hold 24 percent stake in the port. The state government has also taken up the responsibility of investing another Rs.800 million in developing infrastructure like the laying of railway lines.

Vizhinjam has another advantage in that it lies very close to the international waters.

Manmohan Singh will touch down in the capital city on Feb 3 and lay the foundation stones for two major projects - an expansion programme of the Thiruvananthapuram international airport and the Vizhinjam port project.

.....Great news indeed!

Sound like another Mahabharat... Indian port sector going to have some exciting time. Anyway monopoly looks unavoidable now and biggies run the show now on.

Why India might decide P&O battle
Econ. Times- Anto Joseph
The Dubai approach for the ports group, which runs three terminals on the subcontinent, has upset the Indian government

As Krishna Kotak, the billionaire owner of JM Baxi group, returned to Mumbai from the nearby hill station in Lonavla, his international business partner - Dubai Ports World (DPW) - was preparing for a global corporate conflict.

Battle lines were drawn last week after Singapore-based PSA International, the world's second-largest port operator and owner of Singapore's ports, made a £3.5bn ($6.18bn) approach that may lead to a fresh offer for the British port operator P&O, raising the earlier bid of £3.33bn from DPW.

As Krishna Kotak, the billionaire owner of JM Baxi group, returned to Mumbai from the nearby hill station in Lonavla, his international business partner - Dubai Ports World (DPW) - was preparing for a global corporate conflict.

Like Kotak, last Wednesday most Indian captains of industry were enjoying a quiet holiday on account of Bakr-Id, a Muslim festival. They were caught unawares, despite the fact that operations in the Indian sub-continent - the largest market for P&O Ports' global operations, contributing 35-40 per cent of group profits - figured high on the bidders' radar.

Whether it is DPW or PSA, the takeover is likely to face roadblocks in India. Leading shippers and agents have gone to Delhi to lobby the government against the creation of a possible monopoly by foreign giants. The booming shipping industry has its fingers crossed. The government has in the past debarred various port operators from bidding for new terminals to prevent the creation of monopolies, and the industry hopes it will step in again in this mammoth port takeover.

While DPW runs two terminals in India, one in Kochi in a joint venture with the state-owned Container Corporation of India (Concor) and another in Visakhapatnam in alliance with Kotak's JM Baxi group, PSA operates one in Tuticorin with Sical, a local company.

P&O Ports operates three terminals in India - at Nhava Sheva, Chennai and Mundra, while it is developing another port in Kulpi (West Bengal). Its other operations in the sub-continent include Qasim in Pakistan and Colombo in Sri Lanka. Total investments by P&O in assets in the sub-continent add up to $1.3bn, if the committed $200m for Kulpi's development is included.

Analysts in Mumbai say the sub-continent is the most important and profitable region for P&O, with terminals at Nhava Sheva (half-an-hour by speed boat from Mumbai) and Qasim (near Karachi) being the jewels in its crown. For P&O, its expansion into Asia, and especially into the Indian sub-continent, has proved to be a blessing. Asian ports are growing much faster than their counterparts in Europe and other parts of the world, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants. In the third quarter of 2005, P&O's Asian ports, located in China, India, the Philippines and Pakistan, accounted for over 40 per cent of the company's total container throughput.

Altogether, the British port operator operates 27 terminals, in the UK, US, and Belgium, as well as Asia.

The Indian government is watching the takeover game with interest. AK Mohapatra, secretary of the shipping ministry, says: 'We are opposed to creation of monopolies, and do not encourage monopolistic growth by foreign port operators in the country. We will initiate remedial measures if there is any adverse situation created by the monopoly.'

Captain Ramesh Khare, former chief executive of P&O's Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT) and currently a port consultant, says the government was always worried about the creation of monopolies in the booming port sector. 'When we were debarred from bidding for the third terminal at Nhava Sheva, we [took our case to the] Supreme Court in New Delhi. We had then argued that the government would not be able to do much if there is an international takeover. However, we lost, and the terminal was subsequently won by a Maersk-led consortium,' he says.

Local shippers and the shipping community are worried. A spokesman for Western India Shippers' Association (WISA) in Mumbai says the shipping ministry should not allow a scenario where a single operator enjoys a dominant position, let alone a monopoly. 'More players are always welcome, but entering the field through partnerships or takeovers to create a dominant position is not acceptable.' If DPW wins the takeover battle, it will have operational control of eight terminals in the region, says a senior shipping executive in Mumbai, adding: 'It could also come up with policies that could in the long term be detrimental to small operators and service providers.'

Indian circles are, meanwhile, abuzz with another rumour: that the Danish AP Moller group, which owns Maersk would throw itself into the fray. Maersk and AP Moller already operate a terminal in India at Pipavav, and is constructing the third container terminal at Nhava Sheva, which is likely to go operational by mid-2006.

S Hajara, chairman and managing director of the state-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), the largest shipping company, says: 'Consolidation is the latest trend in the international market, and India, being at the centre of attraction, will also see such trends making waves.' But he added that India is too big and fast growing a market for anyone to enjoy a long monopoly.'

Khare feels the monopoly question is overblown. 'Tariffs at all major ports are governed by the port regulator. India has already opened up the port sector for 100 per cent foreign direct investment, and [so] it can't stop any foreign company takeover of private terminals on the monopoly issue,' he says.

Many others do not share his views. 'Both PSA and DPW are home-grown state-owned port operators. Had the Indian government allowed Indian companies to bid for the first terminals in Nhava Sheva and Chennai, India also would have produced large Indian port operators. However, the government refused to qualify local companies with a tough bid criterion on prior experience in terminal handling,' says an Indian port operator. He added that India doesn't have any powers to stop such foreign takeovers, unlike the anti-monopoly legislation in the EU. 'But the government can always step in, in the interest of the nation,' he says.

Most believe PSA's move is strategic. 'It would force DPW to increase its offer, and make it almost impossible for them to offer discounts at their terminals post-takeover,' says an official. 'Regarding the threat perception, it is a choice between Arabs and Chinese. For India, both these markets in the Middle East and Far East are equally importance.'.

With the P&O Ports takeover entering the crucial second phase, 'it is going to be very interesting', says Kotak, quoting a polite Chinese curse: 'may you live in interesting times'.

A Mumbai-based ship agent sums up: 'It is a battle of giants. It doesn't matter if an elephant makes love or war, grass gets invariably trampled.'

Mumbai ports support Alibaug

By Yogesh Naik/TNN

Mumbai: The controversy surrounding the opening of a third sea port near Mumbai harbour has taken a new turn with the project receiving support from the two existing port authorities. Though there is a hue and cry from the greens and Alibaug residents about the new Rewas-Mandwa port, the two giants—Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust—have welcomed the third competitor.
Speaking to TOI on Monday, JNPT chairperson Ravi Buddhiraja said, “The papers came to me a few months ago and we have given a NOC. There is enough scope for a new port to do business. We will be ahead of them.’’ The JNPT, built in 1989 as alternative to MbPT has grown over the years. Most of the container traffic was diverted to JNPT with better access routes to the hinterland, than MbPT.
MbPT chairperson Rani Jadhav said,”We do not oppose any port in the region. We are ready to give them access to lay their channels and the terms of the access will be decided by the centre.’’
A key MbPT official said even if the new port comes up, most ships would still prefer MbPT or JNPT because of better access routes. “The MbPT is not afraid of competition. Everyone has its own strengths. When JNPT came up, many had stated that MbPT will be wiped out. Yet we survived and pulled the organisation from losses,’’ the official said.
The official said that the MbPT had overtaken JNPT last year. “We handled 35 million tonne of cargo last year and this year its expected to cross 40mn tonne. In the next seven years, we will expand our capacity to handle 64 million tonne. With economic growth, there will be scope for a new port,’’ the official added.
Local residents have been opposing the new port and have started staging demonstrations.

Major ports seek big tax breaks

By Pranati Mehra/TNN
Mumbai: The country’s 12 major ports have asked the finance ministry to extend tax concessions to them since they handle over 75% of India’s export-import traffic. Former shipping secretary D T Joseph had written to K M Chandrasekhar, revenue secretary, in December 2005 (just before Joseph retired) that the fiscal support would help ports handle the challenge of capacity expansion.
Ports will handle around 705 million tonne in 2013-14, if compounded annual growth is taken at 7.43%. The port handling capacity will have to be 917.59 million tonne, as against the present 389.50 million tonne. The ports would benefit if I-T concessions were extended, the chairmen of the ports have said. Joseph told TOI, “If ports have to pay tax, trade will become expensive for the customer.’’
Besides, the ports do not have a level playing field with private entities who use their premises. While private operators get tax concessions, ports do not. R B Buddhiraja, chairman, JNPT and Indian Ports’ Association concurs.
The major issues they have raised are: the restoration of their status as “local authorities’’ under section 10(20) of the Income Tax Act. Other local bodies like municipalities enjoy this status and therefore do not have to pay tax.
The second issue they have raised is about the FBT being imposed on their pension funds. The FBT is applied to superannuation funds, and related to high-end employees. Though the 12 ports are now autonomous bodies, the terms for labour in ports are still protected by the CCS Pension Rules as apply to all central government employees.
Therefore, the government will be taxing the pension which is anyway taxed in the hand of the employee when it is paid. This amounts to double taxation. The third issue is related to section 80(IA) of the Income tax Act which gives a 10-year tax holiday to infrastructure projects. But the definition is limited and does not include maintaining and developing navigation channels.

Even as the giant at Vallarpadam is in making, mainline vessels comes to Kochi.


Mainline vessels may come calling at Kochi port
Our Bureau

Kochi , Jan. 24

SEVERAL shipping lines are looking at the possibilities of calling their mainline vessels at Kochi Port with improvements in the productivity of container vessels and their faster turnaround coupled with the increased draught conditions in the channel.MORE (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/01/25/stories/2006012500210700.htm)

Vizhinjam project to go on stream in 2010: Minister

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , Jan. 24

THE first phase of the proposed Vizhinjam international container
transhipment terminal project will go on stream in 2010.

The project, envisaged at a total cost of Rs 4,360 crore, is slated
to be completed in three phases. The first phase, estimated to cost
Rs 1,850 crore, is designed to handle containers of the order of 1.1
million TEUs a year, the Minister of Ports, Mr M.V. Raghavan, said
here on Tuesday.

It may be recalled that the State Cabinet had approved the tender
submitted by a consortium, comprising two Chinese companies - Kaidi
Electric Power Company and China Harbour Engineering Company - and
the Mumbai-based Zoom Developers, for taking up the development of
the project on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

The Minister said the BOT agreement would be for a period of 30 years
after which the terminal would be fully under the control of the
State Government. The BOT period would start from the date of
commissioning of the first phase.

The second and third phases of expansion would cost Rs 990 crore and
Rs 1,520 crore, respectively. When fully commissioned, the terminal
will have a capacity to handle containers to the tune of 4.1 million
TEUs a year.
Mr Raghavan said the international shipping route is just 10 nautical
miles away from Vizhinjam. Besides, the site has a natural draught of
more than 20 metres, which will enable the next-generation "mega
container" vessels to make use of the terminal.

In the initial phase, the terminal will have the capacity to handle
container vessels of 8,000 TEUs. In the subsequent phases, the
capacity of the terminal will be augmented to handle vessels of
10,000-12,000 TEUs.

The Minister said the Government would spend Rs 80 crore for creating
basic infrastructure such as road, rail, water supply and
electricity. The project as such does not require any land
acquisition, nor will it affect the existing fishing harbour or the
fishing activities in the region.

The creation of a special economic zone and logistics corridors has also been planned as part of the development of the container
terminal. Apart from container transhipment, the terminal will able
to handle cargo ships and also huge luxury vessels.

Mr Raghavan noted that the Vizhinjam and Vallarpadam container
terminals in Kochi, when materialised, would help accelerate the
economic development of the country.

As of now, as much as 70 per cent of the country's container
transhipment requirements are met by Colombo, Singapore, Dubai and Al
Salah ports, resulting in a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore on account
of higher import costs.

SPM on target to start operation by May 2007. With this 100% of the crude import on the South West coast will be through this facility. Mangalore may have one in future.

SPM is being set up at a cost of Rs.600 cr right at the international shipping channel, about 19 km from Cochin. This will save Kochi Refineries about Rs 200 cr per annum

Dutch co to supply mooring, allied systems to Kochi Refineries

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/01/19/images/2006011900620701.jpg

The Hindu Businessline

Kochi , Jan. 18

KOCHI Refineries Ltd (KRL) has placed orders worth around Rs 50 crore with the Amsterdam-based Blue Water Energy System (BWES) for supplying Single Point Mooring (SPM) and allied systems for its project in the nearby Puthuvypeen Island. MORE (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/01/19/stories/2006011900620700.htm)

[B]SPM on target to start operation by May 2007. With this 100% of the crude import on the South West coast will be through this facility. Mangalore may have one in future.


^^ - Correct, Mangalore will also have an SPM/SBM, since the Govt. of India has decided to locate one of its two 10 million MT Strategic Petroleum Reserves at Mangalore. Further SBMs are planned along the Gujarat Coast since upto 50 million MT of refining capacity is being added in the next 2-3 years by RIL, Essar and IOCL. :) India's first SBM is already operational at Mundra, Gujarat.

Sorry, this is a Sethu Samundram project report, shifted it to that thread.

My bad. :)

ECONOMY BUREAU
Posted online: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at 0121 hours IST


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN 24: Political nod for Chinese partners is
all that Rs 4360-crore Vizhinjam project, set to be world's deepest
container terminal, now waits for. Not counting the Mumbai-based Zoom
Developers, all BOT (build, operate and transfer) partners in the
consortium identified for awarding the tender are Chinese.
"Since the Centre had recently allowed two Chinese partners to Indian
infrastructure scene, political clearance from the ministry of
external affairs is not likely to be a roadblock," according to MV
Raghavan, Kerala minister for ports.

The main partners - Kaidi Electric Power Co and Chinese Harbour
Engineering - have been involved in building the major ports in China
and are backed by government of China. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
will lay the stone for the container terminal on February 3, the
minister said.

Construction is expected to start in six months, after technicalities
are cleared, he told a press conference

The Rs 1850-crore Phase-I is to be completed in five years. The Rs
990-crore Phase-II is to be completed by the tenth year and by the
time Rs 1570-crore Phase-III is commissioned, the Vizhinjam port is
expected to handle 4.1 million TEU.

To make a comparison, all the existing Indian ports together had in
the last fiscal handled 4.3 million TEU. "Political nod would allow
the formation of a joint venture special purpose vehicle between the
State government entity Vizhinjam Seaport International and the
Chinese consortium," Mr Raghavan said.

The Kerala government has also tightbelted its stakes to 24% in the
proposed project to allow more play for the private partner.

The Chinese consortium had been soft on the subsidy component,
according to Mr Raghavan. Where the Kerala government had expected
over Rs 300 crore as interest-free State debt support, the developers
have asked for only Rs 98.7 crore and that too staggered over four
years.

Besides, the Kerala government is also committed to pay 20% of the
State debt support as grant for first three years of operations, when
the Phase I is over.

Once the Phase I is over, the port is expected to yield at least Rs
1000 crore in annual revenue from the first year.

The unique feature of Vizhinjam port is that it has a natural draft
depth of 24 metres, unmatched elsewhere, without extra dredging.
Secondly, the port is only 10 nautical miles from the international
shipping routes.

About 22 firms, including UK-based Beckett Rankine, Marubeni
Corporation (Japan), US-based Giss-Eta, New York-based First
Wallstreet Group and consortium, Ital-Thai Development Company
(Bangkok), Afcon Infrastructure (Mumbai) L&T ECC, Sical Logistics,
IL&FS, Malta-based Hili Company, Ahmedabad-based Adwani Ports and
Essar Shipping had been in the initial race for developing the port.

VIZHINJAM SEAPORT (in Rs crores)

Phase I- 1850

Phase-II-990

Phase-III- 1570

Total- 4360

Thiruvananthapuram: On his trip to Kerala, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be laying the foundation stone for an international port in Vizhinjam. The Rs 4,300 crore project is expected to not only generate thousands of jobs, but also means crores saved for Indian exporters.

Vizhinjam Harbour, with its proximity to international trade channels and deep waters, can dock even the largest of carrier vessels, making it a goldmine for
trade.

Read the full article at IBN (http://www.ibnlive.com/article.php?id=4844&section_id=3)

Here is the video of which the above is a transcript....:)

Watch the Video Clip from CNN-IBN (http://202.87.40.14/data/videos/vizhinjam_port.wmv)

Kolkata to start night navigation

By Indo Asian News Service

Kolkata, Feb 5 (IANS) With a view to navigating vessels in and out of the Kolkata tidal port during night hours, the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is all set to introduce special vessel traffic management systems.

Night navigation would be introduced from April and the whole process would be ready in 10 months, KoPT chairman A.K. Chanda told reporters Saturday.

He said the facility would help vessels utilise the night hours and increase handling capabilities at the port.

The port is also upgrading its yard facilities and procuring mobile cranes to increase handling capabilities by three times to reduce transaction cost of the customers. The port will spend Rs.100 million in the entire upgrading.

The Kolkata port will end up handling 52 million tonnes of cargo this fiscal.

Vizag port & Cont Terminal by Dubai Ports World (DPW)

Ack: DPW website

http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/LBS--Tisea-009.jpg


http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/Terminal-&-Town-from-Gantry.jpg


http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/Vizag---Cranes-coming-upto-.jpg


http://www.dpiterminals.com/wadmin/imgdb/Vizag---First-Vessel-Call%5B2.jpg


DPW runs Vizag port for over 3 years. It is running Cochin for past 10 months, where it has started construction activities on the greenfield Vallarpadam, which will be the nation' s gateway container transshipment terminal , thru the company christened India Gateway Terminal Ltd

This is the site of the upcoming Rs 4500 Crore Vizhinjam International Transshipment Terminal. Work on this landmark project is set to kick off on February 17th with the foundation stone being laid by the PM. First Phase completion, worth over Rs 1800 crores, is expected in 2009-10.

The deep blue water is an indicator of the 18-24 m natural depth of the port, which places it head-and-shoulders ahead of the rest in terms of capability to handle large vessels. This combined with the fact that the main Suez Canal-Malacca Strait shipping lanes pass just 10 nautical miles from the site, closer than to any other Indian port, assure the dominance of Vizhinjam in India's future. :)

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9794/pic43ts.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

great pic. it looks so scenic.

also, if somebody got any pictures of the new Gangavaram Port in AP. pls do post. on the official website of the project, no pics available currently.

i will be sending them a mail if they have any pictures and about the current progress.

Cruise destination ... A cruise vessel at Ernakulam warf of Cochin port. Cochin is clocking the highest number of
cruise vessel calls these days. An international cruise terminal is about to take off in a month. India's first Marina is coming up 1 km north of this warf.
Next to it comes the giant ICTT- Vallarpadam

http://www.cochinport.com/MV%20Vistamar%20berthed%20at%20Cochin%20Port%20on%2016th%20Jan%202006.JPG

There is an estimated Rs. 14000 cr investment that flowed here after India's Gateway Container terminal at Vallarpadam was launched last year. Still counting... Vallarpadam is expectd to handle 3 million in another 10 years and Cochin port by then plan to launch a new terminal at PuthuVypeen expanding the port to be the biggest in South Asia.

Ship repair facility likely to come up at Chennai port

A ship repair facility on built-operate-transfer (BOT) basis is expected to come up at the Chennai port.

K Suresh, chairman of the Chennai Port Trust, on the sidelines of the golden jubilee meeting of the Chennai and Ennore Port Steamer Agents’ Association, said the port did a feasibility study and had sent the proposal to the Union ministry of shipping seeking in-principle approval for the project.

He said that the project would require an investment of Rs 150 crore and leading organisations such as Dubai Ports evinced interest in participating in the project. They are also keen on joining hands with the domestic firms. The facility will provide employments to 4,000-5,000 people and will have space to repair 15-20 ships a month.


http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=215132

Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) earns record profit

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is all set to touch the Rs 350 crore profit mark this financial year-end. Recording a 17 per cent growth in cargo handling against a national average of three per cent, KoPT is strengthening its ground as the second largest port in the country.

Dr Anup K Chanda, chairman, KoPT, has said that the Kolkata Port will cross the 52 million tonne mark by March end. In the last financial year (2004-05), the port had handled 46.2 million tonnes of cargo.

This is also the first year when the Kolkata Dock System is making a profit on its own. Out of the Rs 350 crore profit, it is expected to generate profits worth Rs 50 crore. The other Rs 300 crore component is expected from the Haldia Dock Complex.

__________________________

11 ports to get face-lift
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=215139

The government is proposing to invest Rs 6,300 crore for deepening the entrance channels and strengthening the berths of all the 11 major ports except Kolkata port in the country. The shipping ministry has prepared a detailed project report after receiving proposals and designs from the ports in this regard.

great pic. it looks so scenic.

also, if somebody got any pictures of the new Gangavaram Port in AP. pls do post. on the official website of the project, no pics available currently.

i will be sending them a mail if they have any pictures and about the current progress.

http://www.larsentoubro.com/news/upload/CYBER-RT/Gangavaram.html

Mumbai, December 26, 2005: Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has been awarded an order by Gangavaram Port Ltd. (GPL) to execute the first phase of the Green Field ‘Deep Water Port Project’ in Andhra Pradesh. This order valued at Rs. 411 crores, will be executed on Engineering Procurement & Construction basis by L&T within 24 months from December 2005. The project site is located at Gangavaram, about 15 km south of Vishakapatnam Port.

West Asia Maritime to expand fleet
Tuesday February 14 2006 11:30 IST

CHENNAI: West Asia Maritime Ltd (WAM), a shipowning and operating company, is planning to increase its present fleet of 25 vessels to 50 vessels in the next three years.

‘‘We will be adding ships in a combination of outright purchase, bareboat charter and time charter operations,’’ said WAM’s managing director Abul Qadir.

As part of its growth strategy, the Chennai-based company today signed an MoU of $33.53 million deal with Mitsui & Co, Japan, for taking a IHIMU, Japan built geared 56,120 DWT bulk carrier under bareboat charter with a purchase option. The new vessel would be delivered in the first quarter of 2008.

The new vessel was chartered for 12.5 years and would be trading world wide for the movement of dry bulk cargos.

According to Qadir, this is the first time that an Indian shipping company has taken bareboat route to control with an option to acquire ships.

He said with this deal the company was getting the vessel for a long period with a minimal investment and also have a purchase option.

Earlier, WAM was dealing with European ship brokers to get the Japanese ships. ‘‘We are getting a direct entry into the Japanese market on the backdrop that the Japanese companies are also looking at Indian business with increased vigour,’’ Qadir said.

The company is planning to build younger, efficient and modern tonnage thereby offer cost-effective services and provide flexible solution to its customers. ‘‘We want to be a major owner-cum operator in Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans,’’ Quadir added. WAM, promoted in 1993 by the Dubai-based $2.3-billion Emirates Trading Agency LLC, has recorded CAGR of more than 30 percent in the past five years in dry bulk operations in India competing with global shipowning/operating companies.

The company along with its Singapore-based subsidiaries WAMPOL and WAMPSPL achieved a profit of Rs 74.4 crore during 2004-05.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEB20060214010904&Page=B&Title=Business&Topic=0

Vizhinjam container terminal project awaiting final nod from Centre

T.Nandakumar

The issue of security clearance a thorny problem for the Government

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A formal proposal was sent to the Shipping Ministry last month
Final clearance from the Home Ministry is expected within a week
Government plans study to identify spinoff benefits from Vizhinjam project
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government has sought political clearance from the Centre to allay national security concerns over the involvement of Chinese firms in the project to develop an international container transhipment terminal at Vizhinjam.

A consortium, including the Mumbai-based Zoom Developers and two Chinese firms, the Kaidi Electric Company and the China Harbour Engineering Company, has bagged the Rs.4,200-crore bid for the Vizhinjam project.

A highly-placed official says that the Government has referred the issue to the Centre because of the concerns raised by various Ministries and intelligence agencies over the increasing participation of foreign companies in India's infrastructure projects. A formal proposal was sent to the Shipping Ministry last month.

The official points out that the same concerns had recently forced the Maharashtra Government to extend the bidding process for the construction of an offshore container terminal in Mumbai. The Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holding was one of the major bidders for the project. The company is also bidding for a second container terminal at the Chennai port.

With more foreign firms lining up to bid for infrastructure projects in India, the issue of security clearance has become a thorny problem for the Government. Earlier this month, the Ministry of External Affairs reversed its position and recommended a go-ahead to the Hutchison Port Holdings' bid for the Mumbai project. The MEA also asked the Cabinet Committee on Security to spell out institutional arrangements to address issues relating to the participation of foreign companies in domestic infrastructure development.

The MEA's position was later endorsed by the Department of Shipping and the Defence Ministry. Officials say the change in the MEA's position is a positive signal for the Vizhinjam project. They say that the final nod from the Home Ministry is likely to be issued in a week's time.

CEO of Vizhinjam Seaport International Ltd. Dr.Jayakumar, who was in New Delhi last week as part of a high-level official delegation, says that the project is likely to clear the final hurdle soon. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to inaugurate the project by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, the Government is planning a study to identify the spinoff benefits from the Vizhinjam project. Key officials said the study would explore the possibility of setting up a special economic zone, logistics corridor and a free trade warehousing zone. They said the entire southern region of Kerala as well as the bordering districts in Tamil Nadu were expected to benefit from the project.

The inherent advantage of a 24-metre draft endows Vizhinjam with the potential for development as a mega container transhipment hub capable of handling the giant post-Panamax class of carrier ships. The project is expected to save valuable foreign exchange to the tune of Rs.1,000 crores every year.

So, the giant project is rolling into the final stages before kick-off. Actual construction is due to start in mid-2006 and phase I to be complete in 2009-10. At Rs 4,200 crores, Vizhinjam is the single largest FDI in Kerala. :cheers: It will also soon develop into India's pre-dominant transshipment terminal. :)

The port will in addition to transshiping a lion's share of India's container traffic, also service the hinterland composed of Southern Kerala and neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu. With the arrival of other mega-projects like the 2000 MW Koodankulam Nuclear Power Station and the Sethusamudram Canal, this region is set to develop very fast. Vizhinjam will provide the right catalyst, at the right time.

Thousands of acres are available close to Vizhinjam, across the border in TN, for the development of SEZs, Logistics corridor and anicillary industries. The road connectivity in this region will be excellent in a few months' time, with the 4-laning of NH-47 and other development under NHDP - II and III. :) A great addition to the bright future of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

PACIFIC PRINCESS at Cochin

http://www.cochinport.com/pacific_princess.jpg

Dredging work ahead of schedule at Cochin & Vallarpadam http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/icons/icon14.gif

Here is the news for the week... Petronet starts work on LNG terminal. Depth of 12.5 mtrs have been achieved ahead of schedule attracting mainline vessels to Cochin - the future transshipment hub of India.
Dubai Ports World DPW is investing $400 mn (Rs 1800 cr) in the phase-I of Vallarpadam making it the biggest FDI funded project in Kerala and probably in India's port sector as a whole. Design works are in the final stage and will be released soon, says DPW website :) . Construction activities like test piling has started at Vallarpadam - India's first and biggest transshipment hub. Icing on the cake - GoI declared Cochin/Vallarpadam as the first port based SEZ of India in Jan 2006.



Petronet LNG gets land for Kochi terminal

Press Trust Of India / Kochi February 08, 2006
Petronet LNG, a premier joint venture company, formed by the Union government to set up an LNG terminal in India, has taken possession of the allotted 32 hectare land from the Cochin Port Trust (COPT), for setting up its terminal at nearby Puthuvypeen.

The Cochin Port Trust chairman N Ramachandran exchanged the documents with P Dasgupta, managing director and CEO, PLL, at a simple function at the Cochin port.

Later, Dasgupta said that the detailed license agreement between PLL and COPT would be entered into in the next three months.

PLL had completed all pre-project activities, including land survey and soil investigation, rapid and comprehensive EIA study, physical and mathematical modelling, marine and terrestrial risk analysis, detailed feasibility report and basic engineering package, he said.

All licenses and clearances that are required, except environmental clearance, expected within 10 days, had been obtained, he said.

He said PLL would set up its second LNG terminal at Puthuvypeen, with an initial capacity of 2.5 mmtpa, with provision for expansion to 5 mmtpa at an estimated cost of Rs 2,100 crore. "We hope to complete the project by December 2009, if not earlier."

PLL had set up the first LNG import and re-gasification terminal at Dahej, Gujarat, with an initial capacity of five mmtpa, which was being expanded to 10 mmtpa, he said.

The re-gasified LNG supplied from Dahej terminal was used as fuel and feedstock and has substituted costly liquid fuels like naphtha and furnance oil, he added.

Ramachandran said dredging work was progressing as per schedule and there was no delay in the work.

To a query, he said "COPT wants to reassure that as far as dredging is concerned, we are absolutely on time as per schedules that have been drawn up".

"We have already achieved what we were supposed to achieve by February 15," he said.

The first milestone in this, was reaching 12.5 metre of draft, which would be announced very soon, he said. "We have already completed the work and are waiting certain technicalities about this, which will be achieved in one week's time.The next stage was to reach 14.5 metre draft."

News from CPT website:

Cochin-Dubai Passenger Ship Service

Cochin Port Trust and M/s Marco Shipping Agency, Dubai have entered into an agreement to start regular passenger vessel service between Cochin and Dubai. The agreement was signed on 22nd November, 2005 by Shri N. Ramachandran, IPS, Chairman, Cochin Port Trust, Shri Mohammed A.AL Suwaidi, Chairman, M/s Marco Shipping, Dubai and Shri A.S. Gopinath M/s Oriental Exim Agency Cochin (local agents for M/s Marco Shipping)
As the passenger service will be beneficial mainly to the low paid Keralites working in the Gulf region and based on a request from the Govt. of Kerala (NORKA) Cochin Port Trust has decided to extend certain concessions on the Port charges to make the service sustainable.
Q2 Transit Shed of Mattanchery Wharf at the Cochin Port will be refurbished as passenger terminal by the Port Trust for the operation of the passenger service. Facilities required for counters for customs, immigration, bank, refreshments etc and communication facilities will be provided at the passenger terminal by M/s Marco Shipping and their agents.

Learnt that this Thursday there is a Cabinet meeting in which the clearance from Centre for Vizhinjam Project would be taken up.

There is some govt policy that clearance from Centre has to be obtained for any JV project with any country which has gone for a war with India.


Vizhinjam will be one of Asia's biggest harbours, Minister

Special Correspondent

Cost of the project estimated at Rs.4,360 crores

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vizhinjam international container transhipment terminal, once completed, will be one of the biggest harbours in Asia, Minister for Ports and Harbour Engineering M.V. Raghavan told the Assembly in reply to questions last week.

In written replies to P.K.K. Bava, C. Mammootty, Neelalohithadasan Nadar, B. Vijayakumar, Ludy Louis, Roshy Augustine, Nalakath Soopy, K.N.A. Khader and others, he said the harbour would have 5,027-metre-long breakwaters; four berths for mother-ships, six berths for feeder vessels; two general cargo berths; 34 Panamax and Post-Panamax cranes; and 400 acres of land from the sea for developing port facilities. The economic internal rate of return from the harbour would work out to 51 per cent.

The Minister said two tender proposals had been received for the project. It had been decided to give the letter of intent to a consortium headed by Kaidi Electric Power Company of China. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs.4,360 crores and it was expected to spend Rs.1,850 in the first phase. The work could be started as and when clearance was received for the project.

Mr. Raghavan noted that though the container traffic in the country had registered a 15 per cent growth rate during the last decade, the lack of harbours with adequate container transhipment facilities had pushed up the country's import and expenditure costs. At present, about 70 per cent of the country's container traffic was being handled by foreign ports such as Colombo, Dubai and Singapore. This resulted in an annual loss of Rs.1,000 crores and the amount was likely to go up in future.

A detailed techno-commercial feasibility study and containership economic study were done before inviting "Request for Proposal" for implementing the project, the Minister said. Vizhinjam harbour is naturally deep and lies very close to international shipping channels. The harbour would be able to meet the lion's share of the transhipment needs of the country....


http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/22/stories/2006022221350300.htm

U.S. ports in a storm

Bushies hit over lease to terror-linked Dubai

BY MICHAEL McAULIFF
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Manhattan's cruise ship terminal, which forms just a part of the $6.8 billion package secured by Dubai Ports World. The company cut the deal with a British firm last week.
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration gave control of six crucial ports to a 9/11-linked Arab nation after a flimsy investigation and with weak guarantees the company in charge can stop Osama Bin Laden from infiltrating, the House homeland security chairman said.

"There are conditions, which shows they had concerns, but it's all procedural and relies entirely on good faith," Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.) told the Daily News. "There's nothing those conditions ... nothing that assures us they're not hiring someone with Bin Laden."

The firm, Dubai Ports World, owned by the United Arab Emirate of Dubai, cut a $6.8 billion deal last week to buy control of the ports — including Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's giant container port — from a British firm.

A source with knowledge of the purchase echoed the chairman, telling The News that while Department of Homeland Security administrators rubber-stamped it, senior analysts at the agency were never told, and they don't like it now. News of the sale, approved by a secretive multiagency panel headed by the Treasury Department, has sparked a growing outcry from both political parties.

"It's unbelievably tone-deaf politically at this point in our history, four years after 9/11, to entertain the idea of turning port security over to a company based in the UAE, [which] vows to destroy Israel," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told "Fox News Sunday."

Hearings on the deal have been called for this week in Congress, and Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) have proposed a law to ban such takeovers.

Schumer demanded that President Bush personally intervene.

"The President must act," he said at a news conference with New York Harbor as a backdrop. "Outsourcing the operations of our largest ports to a country with long involvement in terrorism is a homeland security accident waiting to happen."

But the administration is defending the port transfer, pointing out that even though Dubai was an important base for the 9/11 plot, the emirate is now an American ally.

"You can be assured that before a deal is approved, we put safeguards in place, assurances in place, that make everybody comfortable that we are where we need to be from a national security viewpoint," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told ABC's "This Week."

But King, who was briefed on the deal by top officials last week, disagreed.

"Our investigation was very superficial," he said. "We're talking 20 to 25 days of work, and that includes all the financial aspects and everything else."

King said a huge blind spot was the identity of the firm's employees.

"All we know are principals and people at the top level," he said. "We don't even know the midlevel guys, who are the ones who will be doing the work, really running things."

With Jimmy Vielkind in New York

So finally DPW won the P&O deal. As we have seen many times US "apprehensions" seem to be more of racist hue than "security". Countries like India have a anti-terror pact with Dubai with which it can get wanted criminals transported from there to India. US always refused to do this - if it had done that Bhopal hero Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson will be the number to be deported to India on murder charges.
Anyway, in India DPW owns assets in Vizag and Kochi for years. Many other ports are owned by many like Singapore, P&O, Maersk. So far nobody came up with such dumb reasoning.

Anyway now with DPW taking over P&O it is set to become the numero uno - great news for Vizag which is growing at a scorching pace and Vallarpadam@Cochin which set to be South Asia's biggest and busiest transshipment terminal. http://skyscrapercity.com/images/icons/icon14.gif

India to have 276 ports

The Shipping Ministry is planning to set up 276 ports and 111 shipping units in the country at a cost of about Rs 55,000 crores within a period of 20 years, Shipping and Transport Minister T R Baalu said here today.

With the new project, 'Maritime policy', the handling capacity of the ports in the country would increase from 100 billion tonnes to 150 billion tonnes, he said.

This would also include enhancing the infrastructural facilities like inner harbour development and deepening of draft, of the existing ports.

He said the project would be sent for Cabinet approval after the budget process was over. As part of the project, the Tuticorin port's handling capacity would be enhanced from 15 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes in two phases with an estimated cost of Rs 4577 crores

http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BB5C9F0F5-B653-40F9-B2AD-18328D099160%7D&CATEGORYNAME=National

Reliance Infra to run cargo trains, to invest Rs 500 cr

Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Infrastructure on Friday secured an in-principle approval from the Railway Board for running container trains on specific routes across the country. The company is expected to invest about Rs 500 crore for the project.

The Mukesh Ambani-headed Reliance Industries too had initially expressed interest in the project but later backed out.

Railway Board sources confirmed that Indian Railways accorded an in-principle approval to Reliance Infrastructure. They added the procedure demanded that the company sign a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Railways before implementing the project.

Concor, Gateway Distriparks, Pipavav Rail Corporation, Sical Logistics, Hind Terminals, Adani Logistics, Mundra International Container Terminal, Delhi Assam Roadways Corporation and the JM Baxi group have already received the go-ahead for running container trains.

The approval for Reliance Infrastructure was delayed, as the company took some time to submit certain documents that the authorities had asked for.

Reliance Infrastructure would run trains in the category-I routes, being managed by the Container Corporation of India (Concor). They include all existing and future inland container depots (ICDs) linking the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mumbai Port Trust, National Capital Region, Pipavav Port, Mundra Port, Kandla Port, Chennai Port, Ennore Port, Visakhapatnam Port, Kochi Port, New Mangalore, Tuticorin, Haldia Docks System, Kolkata Port, Paradip Port and Mormugao. Concor is the only entity engaged in the container train services in India.

"Within six months of obtaining the in-principle approval, Reliance Infrastructure should enter into an agreement with an existing rail ICD operator and rail terminal operator for using their facility for container train operations," the sources added.

Dinesh International-Emirates Trading Agency, India Infrastructure & Leasing, Central Warehousing Corporation and Bothra Shipping have also evinced interest in running private container trains.

The new operators will invest in facilities such as container trains, warehousing, ICDs, handling of goods and other logistics operations.

Industry has welcomed participation of more private players in container train operations, as competition will definitely result in improvement in service quality.

"At present, the charge to move a 20-feet container to the JNPT from Delhi is around Rs 25,000 (inclusive of terminal-handling charges) and takes about five days. The price and transit time will come down substantially with more players coming in," a shipping industry representative said.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=216639

Cochin port joins the club of Deep Draft Ports

The Cochin port today achieved another milestone by joining the ''Club of Deep Draft Ports'' in the country with the development of a 12.5 metre draft for its major shipping channel.
With this, the port could now handle larger container vessels.

Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T R Baalu, who announced the achievement at the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) here, said the government was determined to pursue the ''National Maritime Policy'' for the development of ports and shipping units in the country.

Mumbai, Chennai, Goa and Mudra ports are the other ports in the club.

Mr Baalu also said that deepening of the channel was vital in establishing the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam.

''As per the License agreement between the CPT and the Dubai ports world, the channels would have 14.5 metre draft in 2009, coinciding with the commissioning of the ICTT,'' he added.

Noting that the port had achieved the 12.5 metre draft well ahead of the stipulated time, he said the port had saved Rs nine crore in this respect. The cost of dredging that was required for achieving the draft was initially estimated to over Rs 33 crores.

On the Vallarpadam Container Trans-shipment terminal, he said there were certain problems related to acquisition of land and added that the state government had been asked to solve it. He said that 8.5 km rail link and 17.2 Km road connectivity was also planned at a cost of Rs 150 crore and Rs 314 crore respectively for Vallarpadam.

Mr Baalu said the Cochin port would get Rs 7920 crores for the 14 projects identified under the Maritime Policy. An amount of Rs 4438 Crore has been earmarked for the strengthening and deepening of the three berths on Ernakulam Wharf and Rs 412 crore for deepening the drafts for larger bulk vessels, he added.

Under the National Maritime Policy, he said the shipping sector would receive Rs 40,000 crore from the Centre which includes acquisition of ships, provision for inland water transport, ship building, provision for development of coastal vessels, navigation aids, maritime university and ship design.

The port sector would receive Rs 60,000 crore which include construction of berths, purchase of port equipment, development of special economic zone, he said and added that the private sector investment in ports would be Rs 35,000 crore.

The Petroleum Oil Lubricant storage capacity would be increased to 18 metric tonnes from the present 10.5 metric tonnes, he said and added that the container capacity would be increased from the present two lakh TEUs to 12.5 lakh TEUs by 2009.

The Minister said that a Tourist jetty would also be established with multinational facilities between the Ernakulam Wharf and the present jetty.

On the Mattancherry wharf that caved in after a bulk consignment of common salt was unloaded last year, he said the wharf would be reconstructed and discussions were on with the IIT, Chennai.

On the Proposed largest deep sea transhipment port at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, the Minister said security clearance was awaited.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=261801&cat=India

Orissa Stevedore team bags Gopalpur port deal (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=216735)

The Orissa government has awarded the contract for development of Gopalpur Port into an all-weather port to the consortium of Orissa Stevedores Ltd (OSL).

OSL will invest nearly Rs 750 crore in two phases for the development of the port under the build, operate, own, share and transfer (BOOST) basis.

The Gopalpur-a fair weather port now- will be developed into a major all weather port of international standard with a capacity to handle 5.5 million tonnes of cargo per annum.

Gopalpur will be one of the biggest ports on the eastern coast, generating substantial revenue besides creating employment for the people of Orissa.

The government had earlier, on at least on three occasions, decided to hand over the port to private parties for its development but every time, private parties had backed out of their commitment. Under the new agreement, the government will provide 644 acres for the port, which will have a cargo handling capacity of 2.5 million tonnes.

source: http://www.ndtvprofit.com

India, Sri Lanka could rival S'pore as ship fuel hub

March 3, 2006

By Luke Pachymuthu and Neil Chatterjee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Ports in southern India and Sri Lanka have the potential to rival Singapore's dominance as Asia's shipping and marine fuels hub, if infrastructure concerns are overcome, a top shipping agent said on Friday.

Christer Sjodoff, regional director in Asia for Gulf Agency Shipping (GAC), picked India's Cochin and Sri Lanka's Galle as ports with huge growth possibilities as they lie on the key shipping and oil trade routes from the Middle East to East Asia.

Sri Lanka has embarked on a $700 million plan to upgrade its ports and build a new southern harbour.

"They have the potential. It might take five to 10 years until they really start to sell bunker fuels in a free zone area, but I think it is within grasp," Sjodoff said.

"It's not a matter of overtaking -- Singapore will continue to be very efficient -- but I think other locations will catch up."

Singapore is Asia's top ship bunkering port, seeing growth of 5-8 percent a year in marine fuel sales, and Sjodoff said the city-state's efficiency, safety and ability to work with industry to adapt to problems would keep it in a strong position.

Dubai-based GAC has 230 offices worldwide and offers logistics for ships, such as refuelling and repairs. Sjodoff saw South Asia as a whole as the main marine services growth area in Asia, with expansion in the state-controlled Chinese market uncertain despite its huge shipping traffic.

But increased infrastructure development in South Asia and the potential for improved commercial terms would attract ships.

"In India you don't have a lot of free zones where you can sell bunker fuel without taxation. In Cochin they are talking about establishing an offshore free-zone -- there's a number of enclaves that are developing rapidly," Sjodoff said.

India is seeing economic growth of about 8 percent but infrastructure limitations remain a constraint. The country plans expansions of ports and railways to help meet demand for goods and an aim to turn it into a regional oil product export centre.

"Sri Lanka might look at that (a free zone) as well in the future... They don't have the infrastructure but a lot of things can happen if the peace process continues in a good way," Sjodoff said.

The peace process in Sri Lanka, ravaged by a two-decade war, almost collapsed in January though the government and rebels renewed ceasefire commitments in late February. The government is expected to decide soon on a first state-run oil refinery.

"At Galle we can see a good increase of ships using our services -- if they started to have a free zone, an onshore tank farm, maybe an oil refinery -- I would like to think they could start to compete with locations like Singapore."

DPW takes over P&O

Transition will be smooth and benefit all

Dubai's state-owned port operator, DP World, has become a dominant player in container terminal operations in India following its recent global $6.85-billion acquisition of the ports, ferries and property interests of The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).
...
The Vallarpadam project was subsequently awarded to DP World. Kochi has all the necessary ingredients to bring to fruition an ideal government and private partnership of how such deals should be done. Both entities have commitments to fulfil and benefit from. Our commitment to the development of an International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam is equal to that of the Indian Government. READ MOREfrom The Hindu (http://www.blonnet.com/2006/03/06/stories/2006030601080500.htm)

P&O Ports drops anchor in Bengal with Keventer JV

NEW DELHI: P&O Ports’ takeover of Dubai Ports may have landed it in a soup vis-à-vis the Gujarat Maritime Board. However, that hasn’t stopped the UK-based container company from going ahead and signing an agreement with West Bengal-based Keventer group to set up a minor port in the state.

According to sources, P&O Ports Mauritius has signed a joint venture agreement with West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and the Keventer Group to incorporate an entity which will set up a minor port at Kulpi in West Bengal. It plans to pick up 69% equity in the port company, comprising 41,400,000 shares of Rs 10 each for a consideration of Rs 41.4 crore. The balance 31% will be held by the others.

The company proposes to undertake infrastructure development activities like transferring of containers from ship to shore, storage of containers, stuffing and de-stuffing of containers and other ancillary port-related tasks.In its application to the Union government seeking clearance for the venture, P&O Ports has asked for exclusion of a specific clause relating to generation of additional business through the proposed port at Kulpi.

Contd...http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1455994,curpg-2.cms

India, SA to sign shipping deal

NEW DELHI: India and South Africa will sign a maritime agreement to step up trading ties and to float joint ventures in the area of ship building and transportation.

The agreement would be signed between India's ministry of shipping, road transport and highways and the South African government. Shipping minister T R Baalu will lead a high level delegation to South Africa to sign the agreement.

The bilateral Maritime Shipping Agreement aims at increasing maritime ties between India and South Africa and promoting contacts between shipping firms of the two countries.

A Maritime Liaison Committee would be set up under the Agreement for promoting merchant shipping, according to an official release.

The agreement also facilitates establishing joint ventures in the field of maritime transportation, ship building and repairs, apart from allowing exchange of information for smooth flow of commercial goods.

Assistance to vessels in distress while at sea also forms an integral part of the Agreement. Baalu would also visit the major ports of South Africa such as Cape Town and Durban during his visit, the release added.

GRSE plans new yards, eyes merchant fleet (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=121966)

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, the 112-year-old public sector shipyard under the defence ministry, plans to set up two more facilities to attract more orders from the Indian Navy as well as private buyers.

GRSE chairman and managing director Rear Admiral (retd) TS Ganeshan said the shipbuilder plans to acquire 40 acres near Kolkata and an equal area downstream at Haldia. There is no scope for expansion at the current location south of Kolkata port.

Admiral Mehta said the Navy has already placed orders for ships worth Rs 1,400 crore with Mazagaon Docks Ltd, Rs 550 crore with the GRSE, and Rs 100 crore with the Goa Shipyard Ltd.

He said the yard has appointed a consortium of consultants including SBI Caps to study the scope for maintaining and repairing merchant vessels at Haldia.

He said the GRSE has orders for 14 fast-attack craft, four anti-submarine craft and 14 ship tanks over the next five to six years at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore. With its new facilities, GRSE is expecting a 45-50% growth.

On Monday, GRSE launched its third landing ship, tank (LST), Airavat. In 1987, it had launched the first, Magar, and in 1997 the second, Gharial. Airavat, 124.8 metres long with a beam of 17.5m, is 60% complete. It would be able to carry 11 main battle tanks, 10 vehicles, four landing craft and 500 troops.

GRSE delivered three ships and launched four during 2005-06 fiscal, and is expected to deliver four or five ships in the coming financial year at its existing capacity.

Apart from tank-landing ships, it also makes missile corvettes, frigates, marine acoustic research ships, fleet replenishment tankers, survey vessels, hovercraft, fast patrol vessels and offshore platform support-cum standby vessels.

SECURING THE SEAS: The multi-role destroyer, Kolkata, sliding down the slipway at Mazagon Dock in Mumbai on its launch on Thursday. `Kolkata' is the first of three ships in the class now under construction at Mazagon and is scheduled to join the Navy in 2010. The second and third ships will follow in 2011 and 2012, respectively. `Kolkata' has a length of 163 metres, width of 17.4 m and displacement of 6,800 tonnes and will carry two helicopters on board.

http://i2.************/smyhoz.jpg

SECURING THE SEAS: The multi-role destroyer, Kolkata, sliding down the slipway at Mazagon Dock in Mumbai on its launch on Thursday. `Kolkata' is the first of three ships in the class now under construction at Mazagon and is scheduled to join the Navy in 2010. The second and third ships will follow in 2011 and 2012, respectively. `Kolkata' has a length of 163 metres, width of 17.4 m and displacement of 6,800 tonnes and will carry two helicopters on board.

http://i2.************/smyhoz.jpg
That's nice. :)

Is it diesel or nuke powered?

That's nice. :)

Is it diesel or nuke powered?

Neither. It is a gas powered destroyer. India has no nuclear powered weaponary, yet. The ATV, our own nuclear powered submarine, is on its way. Check the link below, and if you are really interested in the Indian Navy, I would suggest browsing the rest of their site as well.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Kolkata.html

meanwhile...

Major ports register 10.3 pc growth in cargo in 2005-06 (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/04/05/stories/2006040502590700.htm)

In 2005-06, all major ports together handled 423.41 million tonnes of cargo traffic as compared with 383.75 mt in 2004-05, thus posting 10.3 per cent growth.

During the year, the Visakhapatnam port might have emerged as the highest cargo handling port (in volume terms), but in terms of rate of growth of traffic, the Mumbai port topped the list of all major ports in the country.

In terms of growth, the second position was shared by both Kolkata (including Haldia) and the Jawaharlal Nehru port - 15 per cent each.

In volume terms, for the second year in succession, the Kolkata port ranked second, the Chennai port third, the Kandla port fourth and Mumbai fifth.

The two ports which posted negative growth, marginally though, during 2005-06 were Kochi 13.9 (14 mt) and Ennore 9.1 mt (9.4 mt) It might be interesting to note that in past four years (2001-02 to 2005-06) the Kolkata port posted highest growth of around 75 per cent.

The two ports which posted negative growth, marginally though, during 2005-06 were Kochi 13.9 (14 mt) and Ennore 9.1 mt (9.4 mt) It might be interesting to note that in past four years (2001-02 to 2005-06) the Kolkata port posted highest growth of around 75 per cent. In 2001-02, the port handled 30.4 mt, increased to 53 mt in 2005-06, thus adding to traffic throughput by more than 22 mt in four years.

I thought Ennore is doing well or is it because of the big brother 'Chennai Port' near to it.

Same about kochi also i thought it is one among the top 5 ports in India. Heard recently that the container traffic movement has been affected by some strikes there. Passengers from lakshadeep were stranded at sea and had to be rescued by the Navy.

Passengers from lakshadeep were stranded at sea and had to be rescued by the Navy.

There was a container trailor strike (not by port workers). Passengers travel in container trailors ??? :D
There were several cruise vessels that visited during last week. In fact container throughput has jumped in Kochi over past one year.


Container throughput up at Kochi port
Wednesday, Apr 05, 2006, The Hindu
Staff Reporter

KOCHI: Containerised cargo throughput at the Kochi Port has gone up marginally during 2005-06 owing to the steps taken by the Cochin Port authorities to woo more cargo to the port and the measures instituted by the container terminal operator India Gateway Terminals Limited (IGTL).

During the financial year just ended, containerised cargo throughput stood at 2,03,112 TEUs (Twentyfoot Equivalent Units) compared to the 1,85,175 TEUs during 2004-05.

This is an increase of 17,937 TEUs indicating that the port authorities here have moved succeeded in their efforts to cut box handling costs.

Container movement at the port was at a standstill for eight days from March 26 owing to a strike called by the crew of container trailers serving the port. As per a rough estimate, at least a 1,000 TEUs of cargo were channelled to neighbouring ports like Tuticorin and New Mangalore.

The strike had also resulted in about 1,500 TEUs of containerised cargo being stranded at the IGTL complex.

On the bulk cargo front, there has been a marginal fall of 1.56 lakh tonnes during the year just ended.

Cruise vessel

Cruise vessel PSV Star Flyer called at the Kochi Port at 11 a. m. on Tuesday making it the first cruise liner to call at the port during the new financial year. The vessel arrived at the port with 83 passengers and 71 crew members on board from Colombo. It is scheduled to leave for Goa on Wednesday afternoon.

Lack of security nod signals doom for Mumbai project

Indefinite delay in clearing Hutchison's bid likely to kill competition for Mumbai's off-shore terminal bid

OUR SHIPPING BUREAU MUMBAI 02 APRIL

Is the much-touted Mumbai offshore terminal dying a natural death before it was born? The uncertainty and long delay has forced many prospective bidders to back out, and the indecisiveness in New Delhi is turning out to be the proverbial last nail in the coffin of the Rs 1,200-crore terminal project.
Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) was forced to postpone the deadline for bidding the terminal for a record seven times -- beginning November 28. The last deadline was March 16, and now it has been shifted to April 15. The reason: one of the 12 bid-ders -- the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports Holdings (HPH) is awaiting security clearance.
"When the prime minister's office (PMO) stepped in two months ago, and asked the security agencies to clear the HPH's proposal, everyone thought the project would take off, finally. But interestingly, security agents are still sitting on the proposal, and has delayed the project indefinitely," said sources.
Everyone associated with the project says that it is government's prerogative to decide -- either to clear or reject the proposal. But, the uncertainty has now put credibility and faith in the government at stake, said one of the bidders.
A port official said that the deadline has been extended time and again at the behest of the shipping ministry to accommodate HPH into the tender process. HPH, which will partner with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for the project, is yet to get security clearance from the Indian government, without which the consortium cannot submit its bid. This situation has left L&T in limbo since it cannot participate in the tender process without having a partner who has experience in developing projects of international standards. Interestingly, HPH is only a management contractor, while L&T is the main bidder. This means that L&T would appoint security officer, and HPH would only manage the terminal, in the event of L&T-HPH winning the bidding process."HPH is a pure terminal operator and doesn't own/operate ships, and that makes Indian navy's worry unfounded. Also, Hutchison is a major player in India's tele-com sector, which is much more sensitive than ports and terminals," said sources.
A senior port official said half of the prospective bidders have already developed cold feet, after spending a lot of money and energy on various studies, thanks to the delay. A few serious bidders, including L&T, are still pursuing the project. However, they may abandon it soon, if the government decision is postponed further.
Initially, interested parties included Mitsui OSK Line, P&O Ports, ULA of India with SSLA of Germany, Gammon Infrastructure with Dragados of Spain, ABG Heavy Industries with IL&FS, DP World, Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine, Adani Exports and AP Moller group.
The security clearance to HPH has also delayed the Chennai bidding for the proposed second terminal.

There was a container trailor strike (not by port workers). Passengers travel in container trailors ??? :D
There were several cruise vessels that visited during last week. In fact container throughput has jumped in Kochi over past one year.

This Was About The Container Trailor Strike Which paralysed The Koci Port For Two Weeks.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/india/20060402/295667.html

Container lorry workers strike at Cochin Port enters second week
Kochi | April 02, 2006 9:38:31 PM IST

The strike by container lorry workers, which has paralysed the movement of cargo to and from Cochin Port, entered the second week today as the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh stuck to its stand not to withdraw the stir till the lorry owners sign a revised wage agreement.

The strike, which hampered year-end cargo traffic through Cochin Port, has caused considerable hardship to the exim trade with exporters being forced to divert their consignments to other ports, such as Chennai and Tuticorin, to meet their deadlines.

And The Other One About The Passengers Who Were Left Stranded In The Sea And How Navy Helped Them.

http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=27017


Kochi port activities partly hit by workers' strike
Kochi, Mar 16
The strike hit work at the port that had no vessels leaving it or entering it today. Two passenger vessels from Lakshadweep were kept waiting at the port-mouth, with the strike stopping them from berthing at the port.


http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=27017


Port employees strike enters second day

Kochi: Kochi Port authorities sought the Navy's help for outward movement of two container cargo vessels from the port as the strike by a section of employees entered the second day today.

Last night, the Navy helped in disembarking passengers from the two vessels which had arrived from Lakshadweep.

I have reposted from above. Probably the point will be missed this time too... :)


Container movement at the port was at a standstill for eight days from March 26 owing to a strike called by the crew of container trailers serving the port. As per a rough estimate, at least a 1,000 TEUs of cargo were channelled to neighbouring ports like Tuticorin and New Mangalore.

Cruise vessel PSV Star Flyer called at the Kochi Port at 11 a. m. on Tuesday making it the first cruise liner to call at the port during the new financial year. The vessel arrived at the port with 83 passengers and 71 crew members on board from Colombo. It is scheduled to leave for Goa on Wednesday afternoon.

How did PSV Star Flyer coast ? Cruise passengers sit on top of container lorrys and go for sight-seeing ?? :D

Desperately looking for some poor light to cast .. eh ? :)

Also here is Queen Elizabeth II, at Cochin, shot on March 27 (from Memrys flickr gallery)

http://static.flickr.com/19/120363779_77443f98fb_o.jpg

According to the above kishore QE-2 could not have touched Kochi as container lorrys were on strike !! To his dismay port activities other than container movement were unaffected. And none of the passengers were waiting for a lorry ride :D

Let's end this argument! Please!

Port of Rotterdam Authority helps Indian ports with business plan

http://www.eyefortransport.com

The Indian Ports Association (IPA) has engaged the Port of Rotterdam Authority as advisor to co-ordinate the drafting of the business plans for the IPA’s largest Indian ports.

The agreement is in line with the Rotterdam Port Authority’s international policy, one of the objectives of which is to attract new cargo flows from countries experiencing strong economic growth.

In India, growth of 8% was recorded last year.

At the moment, the foreign policy conducted by the Port Authority is limited to the development of a port in Sohar, Oman. At the end of last year, CEO Hans Smits announced that the Port Authority also wished to become active in other foreign ports, if the conditions were right.

The ports of Paradip, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Ennore, Chennai, Tuticorin (East coast), Cochin, New Mangalore Port, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai and Kandia (West coast) form the IPA, which is based in Delhi.

The joint throughput of these ports represents around 75% of the country’s total, and just about equals the throughput figures for the port of Rotterdam (370 million tonnes).

The Indian Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Motorways is responsible for the results of the ports.

All twelve ports are engaging a firm of consultants to draw up their business plan. The result must be the transformation of the existing ports into modern ‘state of the art’ ports, which are equipped to serve India’s rapidly developing economy. It will be the Rotterdam Port Authority’s job to supervise the drafting of these plans and assist with the co-ordination.

Chennai Port to sign agreement for second container terminal soon

Our Regional Bureau / Chennai April 07, 2006

The Chennai port is likely to sign the BOT (build-operate-transfer scheme) licence agreement for the second container terminal in the next couple of months.

Suresh said that the final and technical evaluation of the offers made by bidders, is to take place in a month's time.

Of the 11 qualified applicants, three agencies - Port of Singapore, Hutchison Ports and Emirates Trading Agency, had submitted bids and some clarifications were sought by the bidders after opening of the technical bids, he added.

Security clearance from the Government of India for the bidders was expected shortly, after which the financial offers will be opened. Its is expected that the Chennai Port will be signing a 30-year licence agreement with the successful bidder.

He said that Port was a expecting a good revenue share from the second container terminal operations. It is getting about 37 per cent share from the existing terminal.

This Rs 500 crore second container terminal project, will augment the container handling capacity of the port by eight lakh tonnes per year, when completed.

Suresh also said the car major Hyundai had evinced interest in setting up a multi-level car parking facility terminal in the Port. It is expected to sign a productivity-linked incentive agreement with the company once the project is finalised, he said.

The port has reported a growth of 20.29 per cent in handling Hyundai cars to 1.02 lakh units in 2005-06 from 83,121 cars in 2004-05. A car carrier company, Eukor, is keen on having a tie-up with the port to attract other car exporters, said Suresh.

Mumbai to get 'floating port' (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=123466)

MUMBAI, APRIL 11: Ramesh Vangal promoted Katra Group has tied up with Norway-based marine transport major Wilh Wilhelmsen to launch a ‘floating port’ — a 250-metre long ship with 1,30,000 metric tonne of cargo capacity.

The ship will help load and unload cargo to and from big ships, which cannot drop anchor close to the port, owing to draught constraints.

Christened the “M V Goan Pride,” this transshipper is the largest of its kind in the world and can transfer cargo at a speed of over 4,500 tonnes per hour, and can load vessels upto 3,00,000 dead weight tonne. Katra Group and Wilh Wilhelmsen have floated this as a 50:50 joint venture.

Former chief of PepsiCo Foods India, Mr Vangal said that although India has a 6,800 km coastline and over 200 ports, all of them are shallow. “As a result, large bulk carriers do not come to India due to poor loading and unloading capabilities of our ports. Using the new transshipment solution will result in a cost savings of $3-5 per tonne,” he said.

The alternate loading system of MV Goan Pride would save demurrage charges paid to port. Instead of 7-8 days, it would also be able to load or unload a Capesize vessel in one day and Panamax vessels in two days, Katra Wilhelmsen MD Gokul Patnaik added.

Mumbai box terminal project may be delayed

Mumbai April 11

Uncertainty continues to shadow Hutchison Port Holdings' proposed foray into the Indian port sector, with the Government still undecided on whether to give security clearance to the international port operator to bid for the Rs 1,200-crore Mumbai container terminal project.

With the Cabinet Committee on Security, which met in March to decide on the issue, referring the matter to the National Security Advisory Council (NSAC), the Government has asked Mumbai port to extend the deadline for submission of bids from March 16 to May 10. Clearly, the project will be experiencing further delay.

Authoritative sources said the NSAC would shortly be meeting to examine the participation of Hutchison Port in the Mumbai container project from the security perspective, before it gives its recommendation. The security issue has been raised due to the proximity of the proposed terminal to key naval installations in Mumbai.

Till then, Hutchison's proposed foray in the Indian ports sector will continue to hang in a balance. In fact, the port operator had been trying to enter the Indian container terminal sector for quite some time, but its efforts had come a cropper, as it could not get security clearance to bid for such projects.

Hutchison is one of the eleven companies in the race for the Rs 1,200-crore offshore container terminal project at Mumbai, the others including Mitsui OSK, P&O and Evergreen, besides Indian companies such as L&T, Gammon India and ABG Group.

During the past few months, the last date for acceptance of bids was extended several times, mostly because of the issue of security clearance for Hutchison's entry.

After the first pre-bid meeting with bidders, the bidding date was fixed at November 2, 2005.

This was shifted to November 28 at the request of some bidders during the second pre-bid meeting in October.

But even after November 28, the last date has been extended four times at the Government's instance — first to December 15, then January 9, 2006, February 10, February 28, March 16 and now to May 10, 2006. The project involves setting up two offshore container berths with a total length of 700 metres, with an option for the successful bidder to develop a third berth at a latter stage with a quay length of 350 metres. The proposed berth will thus be bigger than the neighbouring JNPT's terminal (650 metres), NSICT (600 metres) and the third berth being constructed (712 metres). The new berth can simultaneously handle two fourth general container vessels of 6.000 TEUs each.

Former chief of PepsiCo Foods India, Mr Vangal said that although India has a 6,800 km coastline and over 200 ports, all of them are shallow. “As a result, large bulk carriers do not come to India due to poor loading and unloading capabilities of our ports. Using the new transshipment solution will result in a cost savings of $3-5 per tonne,” he said.

The alternate loading system of MV Goan Pride would save demurrage charges paid to port. Instead of 7-8 days, it would also be able to load or unload a Capesize vessel in one day and Panamax vessels in two days, Katra Wilhelmsen MD Gokul Patnaik added.


A sad state for an emerging economic power like India, to have no deep water ports. To an extent that lightering is being put into play. Hopefully, new deep water ports like Rs 4,500 Crore. Vizhinjam project, Gangavaram and Mundra can make headway in this sector.

Vizhinjam for example, will be able to reduce container handle charges by upto $ 100 per move, when it is operational in 2009-10. Mundra, likewise, has already become a crude oil hub, with a cluster of refineries developing around it, including the Reliance behemoths at Jamnagar! Looking forward to a deeper, better future. :)

SCI to buy 76 ships for $3.3 bn (http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=124156)

Shipping Corp. of India Ltd. plans to buy 76 vessels for about 150 billion rupees ($3.3 billion) over the next six years, Chairman and Managing Director S. Hajara said on Tuesday.

This is the first major fleet acquisition proposal by the state-run carrier in recent years and comes after the Communist-backed federal government called off a move to sell stake in it.

A sad state for an emerging economic power like India, to have no deep water ports. To an extent that lightering is being put into play. Hopefully, new deep water ports like Rs 4,500 Crore. Vizhinjam project, Gangavaram and Mundra can make headway in this sector.

Vizhinjam for example, will be able to reduce container handle charges by upto $ 100 per move, when it is operational in 2009-10. Mundra, likewise, has already become a crude oil hub, with a cluster of refineries developing around it, including the Reliance behemoths at Jamnagar! Looking forward to a deeper, better future. :)

Its especially annoying, because if im not mistaken, our coast is very well suited to deep water ports, etc... If we had enough money, we should build them up and down the coast.

Its especially annoying, because if im not mistaken, our coast is very well suited to deep water ports, etc... If we had enough money, we should build them up and down the coast.

With our Socialist mindset for the first 50 years of our independence, I guess foreign trade wasn't really a big issue for our elected leaders. Remember the mantra?

Self Reliance!

Yeah, but then its only relatively recently that people have realised how important openess and free trade have been to the most successfull countries over the ages - back then socialism was as good a guess as any - and thus after independence, India became a testbed. I guess heavy (I would say unhealthy, in agreement with what Tagore said to Gandhi at the time) reliance on nationalism, cultivaed by the freedom movement, also lent to that.

India's Gateway Transshipment Terminal construction takes off...

DP To Float Tender For Kochi Project
The Saudi Gazette
18 April 2006
DUBAI: Dubai Ports (DP) World will soon float a tender for the design of its planned $450 million container terminal in Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

"This will be followed by another tender for the project's main construction," DP World chief executive officer Mohammad Sharaf said. "We've completed borehole surveys. In a couple of months we'll issue a tender for design."

DP World's investment in India is part of its $3 billion plus spending plan that covers new container terminals at Yarimca in Turkey and Qingdao in China. It confirmed yesterday that it would invest $300 million in a container terminal in Djibouti.

The company signed an agreement with the Cochin Port Trust in February last year to build, develop and operate a container transshipment terminal at Vallarpadam in Kerala.

DP World handles about half of India's container throughput since acquiring Britain's Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) last month. It has smoothly taken over P&O's business at Indian ports, Sharaf said.

He said there were no monopoly concerns or procedural issues related to the acquisition in India.

This deep water port already will handle over 4 million containers annually with further expansion possibilities at near PuthuVype. The SEZ coming up here have attracted over INR.10,000 cr. assured investment. Cochin port handles over 200,000 TEU annually and is set to handle 300,000 TEU this year.
This incidently is the biggest Foreign Direct Investment in Kerala :)

CMA CGM Group plans expansion

Santanu Sanyal

Eyeing port terminal projects in different parts of the country

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The proposed weekly express service, to be named CIMEX (China India Middle East Express), will replace the present weekly Super Galex Service operated by the shipping line in partnerships with CSVA Norasia, Gold Star and Hanjin connecting Far East with the Indian sub-continent and the West Asia.
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Kolkata , April 19

The CMA CGM Group, the world's leading container operator, intends to extend its coverage in India by creating inland container depots and expanding outbound services to meet the growing demand and to strengthen its position in the country.

The group, according to a press release issued by the company recently, is also looking at several port terminal projects.
Read the Full Article in The Business Line (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/04/20/stories/2006042002390700.htm)

CMA CGM's entry into the Indian container terminal scene will help to break DPW's near-monopoly of the market, post the P&O merger. As mentioned in the article, CMA CGM currently transships its Indian cargo at terminals like Port Kelang. It is on the lookout for a deep-water terminal, which can handle the upto 8,500 TEU giants which are now entering the business.

Incidentally, CMA CGM was one of the early bidders for the $ 1 billion (Rs. 4,600 Crore) Vizhinjam deep water Transshipment Terminal, which was eventually awarded to a consortium led by ports giant, CHEC. CHEC is reportedly in talks with several terminal and container shipping operators to handle operations at the port. We should be getting updates, once the local elections are over....:)

Even as India's transhipment gateway project takes off with Dubai Ports World DPW
there are worries over monopoly.

DPW boxes-in South Asia
The Hindu Business Line
M. P. Pinto

The P&O acquisition gives the UAE government-owned entity a virtual monopoly in the whole region

The battle raged fierce and fast. Two major players in the international port operations arena had fixed their sights on a prize both considered crucial to their future. But when two eager suitors line up for the hand of the same maiden only one can win.

In the full glare of wide media coverage both Port Singapore Authority (PSA) and Dubai Ports World (DPW) fought a fierce battle to take over P&O Ports. But in the end PSA decided that it could not better DPW's offer of $6.8 billion and P&O's shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the DPW offer.

At stake was not merely a hugely profitable company with some superb concessions in ports across the world. Had PSA succeeded in taking over P&O, it would have become the No 1 port operator in the world. As it is, in 2005 PSA regained its position as the world's busiest port from Hong Kong by moving 23.2 million TEUs. In terms of shipping tonnage handled, Singapore is the world's busiest port as well as one of the largest bunkering centres. All this led to an increase of more than 20 per cent in net profit and boosted the bottomline of the group. By 2018 PSA hopes to double its current output and reach the staggering figure of 50 million TEUs per annum.

CASH AND SHARE OPTION

Given this impressive record, the argument that PSA could not compete with DPA because the latter had the might of the UAE Treasury at its back is not entirely valid. PSA could have considered a cash and share option that would have created a new, enlarged firm which would combine the assets of both PSA and P&O.

In this reverse takeover, shareholders in P&O would have received a certain amount of money for their shares and also shares in an enlarged company formed by injecting PSA's assets into those of P&O thus creating the largest port company in the world. In this scenario the real attraction would have been the opportunity to hold stock in such a company.The company itself would have been listed on the London Stock Exchange giving P&O a listing in London though it is they are yet to be listed in Singapore itself. It is not clear whether PSA considered the cash and share option seriously.

The twin benefits of not having to fork out as large a sum as that offered by DPA plus the fact that the company would get a listing on the London Stock Exchange should have been major attractions. PSA is in any case rumoured to be mulling a listing in Singapore. Outright purchase of P&O would have put too great a strain on PSA's balance-sheet and could even have led to a possible credit rating downgrade. This would have made raising of loans that much more expensive and difficult. The cash and share option would have taken pressure off the balance-sheet, but Temasek Holdings, PSA's owner, passed up the opportunity to get its first company listed in London.

MONOPOLY IN SOUTH ASIA

For India, however, there is more to the sale of P&O's port business to DPW. P&O controls container terminals in India from JNPT and Mundada on the west coast to Chennai and Kulpi on the East. It also has concessions in container terminals in Karachi and Colombo. All these will be added to DPW's own interests in flourishing container terminals in Vizag and Kochi.

The result: A virtual monopoly to DPW not only in India but in South Asia. Now, its only competitor is the AP Moller Group, which is developing a new container terminal in JNPT. In the entire region, PSA operates a container terminal only at the relatively small port of Tuticorin.

In this background, our first priority should have been to attract more players into this sector so that a monopoly situation is not created. Greater competition ensures more attractive pricing and a better deal for shippers using Indian ports. Unfortunately, our obsession with security considerations has kept the world's largest port operator, Hutchinson, out of Indian ports.

DPW's acquisition of P&O has not been completely smooth. The UAE government-owned entity ran into unexpected opposition in the US where, cutting across party lines, senators, congressmen and the media alike opposed the takeover by DPW of the six American container terminals operated by P&O. The reason: Unacceptable security risks. Strong support to the deal from no less than the US President, Mr George Bush, could not wear down the determined fight put up by political and public interests in the US. Finally, DPW backed down and agreed to hand over the American concessions to a local port operator.

The security argument used to block the take over of P&O's American concessions is flawed. If the six American terminals run by a private firm headquartered in Australia did not lead to a breach of security, there is really no reason to suppose that security is threatened merely because the new operator is headquartered in the UAE. Security is in any case the task of the port authority and not the terminal operator.

But if for emotive reasons that do not stand up to cold economic logic the Americans could stall the entire deal, should not more relevant considerations such as the establishment of a monopoly cause Indian policy-makers and the public alike to sit up and take notice?

(The author is a former Secretary, Ministry of Shipping.)

Vallarpadam deepwater ICTT project, first proposed in 1979 and took concrete shape in 1991, took off in 2004 with Centre clearing the bid off DPW. This is the strongest point of DPW's network of ports around world. Phase-I at Vallarpadam is with an investment of $450 mn.

Cochin incidently is the first port in India to handle containers in late 1960s, but lagged behind later due to lack of further development. ICTT is set to make it the numero uno and bring in the biggest ever FDI flow in a single project in Kerala.

Three new shipping services launched by CKYH, OOCL and Senator Lines
http://www.eyefortransport.com

The CKYH Alliance plans to launch a new Asia-US East Coast service in July, OOCL will start a new Gulf-India-Straits service next month, and Senator Lines’ new Asia-Mediterranean service will begin next week.

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), in co-operation with Simatech Shipping, will launch a new weekly service linking the Middle East to India, Pakistan and Singapore / Malaysia, called the Gulf-India-Straits Service (GIS).

Commencing on May 10, 2006, the new GIS service will be served with four 1,000 TEU containerships, with a port rotation of Singapore > Pasir Gudang > Port Kelang > Nhava Sheva > Karachi > Jebel Ali > Bandar Abbas > Jebel Ali > Mundra > Cochin > Singapore, for a 28-day roundtrip.

Goa Shipyard to create shipbuilding history (http://oheraldo.in/node/12866)

Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) is poised to make a landmark event in the Indian shipbuilding history with the launching of two vessels and commissioning of one vessel on April 28.

A11 these vessels have been designed and built by GSL for the Indian Coast Guard. The two vessels to be launched include one extra fast patrol vessel (XFPV) and one advanced offshore patrol vessel (AOPV). The 105mts AOPV will be the biggest vessel ever built for Indian Coast Guard. The XFPV will be the fifth in series built by GSL. April 28 will witness the commissioning of Extra Fast Patrol Vessel “ICGS Subhadra Kumari Chauhan “at MPT jetty, Vasco.

The vessel is 50mts long, 266T primarily designed for patrolling, anti-smuggling and anti-terrorist operations. With a speed of 35 knots, this vessel is fastest in its category ever built by any shipyard with unique feature of waterjet propulsion. It can also support navy during wartime as a coastal convoy escort and a communication link. The vessel has a minimum endurance of 1500NM and is fitted with one 30mm gun, two 12.7 mm machine guns along with highly advanced navigation and communication equipment.

The 105 mts AOPV has been named as “ICGS Sankalp” meaning resolute determination. This will be the first of its series and can stage ALH helicopters with helo traversing facility and sea boats. The range of the vessel is 6500NM with a speed of 23.5 knots. The vessel is powered by 28100kw engines with CPP propulsion.

The third vessel Extra fast patrol vessel “ICGS Savitri Bai Phule” to be launched has been named after the name of the lady Savitri Bai Phule.

Artist's impression of the upcoming Vizhinjam Int'l Transshipment, based on latest plans. The $ 1 billion dollar project is one of the largest FDIs in India. Construction is due to start in late 2006. :)

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/733/vizhinjam8nx.jpg

An article about the only FDI funded port project in the Kerala, and probably the largest in India. It is the largest single operator container terminal planned in India and the first in the country to operate in a special economic zone. It also has attracted a further ancilliary investment of Rs.11,000 cr , sizeable part of which is also FDI.
Construction activity has commenced and tenders for many major constructions are already out.

Vallarpadam ICTT will be a benchmark
Capt. Subhash Kumar
(Excerpts)

Cochin Port Trust is implementing various expansion plans. Let us begin with the Vallarpadam ICTT.
Dubai Port International, now known as Dubai Port World, will be developing Vallarpadam ICTT. The container berth will be of 1,800m and have a depth of 14.5m. The project involves an investment of Rs 2,000 crore and it will be operational by 2009.
On April 1 this year the port trust handed over the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal to Dubai Port which is operating the terminal under the name India Gateway Terminal. When Vallarpadam ICTT becomes operational in 2009, Dubai Port will hand it back to the port trust. It is a unique contract; for the first time we have given an existing berth for operating so that when Vallarpadam ICTT opens, DPW will have enough traffic to cater to.
The Vallarpadam ICTT project will be a benchmark in port development. Cochin Port is the only port in India to have the best location for development on the scale of ports in Singapore, Hong Kong and Jebel Ali. The project will put Cochin Port on the global map.
What will be the revenue impact of the Vallarpadam project?
All other developers are keeping an eye on this project, to see how government, port and labour work in a synchronised manner. The developers will give one-third of the earnings to the port trust every year. This will raise the port trust's revenue by 30 per cent.

Other projects

LNG Terminal: Cochin Port Trust has signed an MoU with Petronet LNG; the former will allot 32 hectares of land on BOT basis for 30 years. The development of the terminal involves an investment of Rs 1,600 crore. Petronet LNG has invited tenders for construction and called for ships to supply LNG. The trust will provide marine activities such as berthing and unberthing of ships. If everything works on schedule, then the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of this terminal on November 1, 2005. This terminal will be operational by 2009. GAIL (India) will utilise a part of the land for setting up an LNG-based chemical plant.

Single Point Mooring: Kochi Refinery is already handling crude and crude products in the inner harbours. The refinery wants to expand so that VLCC ships can also be brought in. The trust has handed over 70 hectares of land for tank farms. The construction of tank farms has already started. The refinery has floated tenders for the supply of SPM.
International Bunkering Terminal: Presently, companies of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd are supplying fuel to the ships, which are coming to Cochin Port. As the port is geographically located along the main sea route from the European continent, Mediterranean ports via Suez Canal and Persian Gulf, and the Far East including Australia and Japan, through which nearly 8,000 ships pass everyday, we are planning to develop world-class bunkering facilities for these ships at commercial rates. We have invited Expressions of Interest for the bunker terminal to be developed on BOT basis for 30 years. Most of the oil companies like IOC, HPCL, BPCL and Indian Molasses will compete for forming joint venture with an international company. This is a clause we have incorporated in the tender.
International Ship Repair Complex: We will provide 50 hectares of land to build this mega ship repair complex. EoI has been invited and two-three companies have responded.
Cruise Terminal: The port trust plans to develop cruise terminal on BOT basis. The terminal will have a cruise berth, a convention hall and a vehicle parking area. We are also looking at direct sailing to and from Dubai and other parts of the Gulf region.
SEZ: Cochin Port Trust has already forwarded the papers to the Union ministry of commerce and industry to declare Vallarpadam and Puthuvypeen area as SEZ. This is one of the main requirements for the agreement with Dubai Port, as it would start work only after this area is declared as SEZ. The declaration of 250 acres at Puthuvypeen and 170 acres at Vallarpadam as SEZ will take at least a month.


The most difficult task for the port is developing road and rail connectivity. Land within the port vicinity is freely available but to acquire land passing through a thickly populated area is a Herculean task.
Four-lane roads are being developed to link NH-47, 49 and 17 with the port area. The detail project report has been prepared for development of rail connectivity from the port to the main line. Land acquisition for the same is in progress.


The port trust is planning to deepen and widen the channel to bring in bigger ships of 14.5m drafts. The channel will be dredged to about 17m and will be widened to 250m. The port trust is also planning capital dredging of 40 million cubic metres. The tenders for this will be floated shortly. The estimated cost of the capital dredging is Rs 450 crore.

Nice renders Ajay.

Any idea on the dimensions of the port? They might have been posted already but i think i overlooked them.

Thanks Kronik. :), here's some details:

- Two breakwaters - Total length of 5,027 metres
- Four-six berths for mother ships
- Six-Eight berths for feeder ships
- 34 Panamax, Post-Panamax and Super Post Panamax cranes
- 400 acres of land for port facilities
- Two general cargo berths
- Cruise Terminal

- Natural depth of 18-24 m. Final operational draft of 24 m.
- Zero dredging required
- Initial capacity to handle 8500 TEUs
- Finally will be capable of handling 10-12,000 TEU ships in 3-4 years.
- Total project cost - Rs 4,500 crores or $ 1 billion.
Vizhinjam will be one of Asia's biggest harbours, Minister

Special Correspondent

Cost of the project estimated at Rs.4,360 crores

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vizhinjam international container transhipment terminal, once completed, will be one of the biggest harbours in Asia, Minister for Ports and Harbour Engineering M.V. Raghavan told the Assembly in reply to questions last week.
Read the full article in The Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/22/stories/2006022221350300.htm)

Vizhinjam already has a 18 m depth which other ports are struggling to come close, spending hundreds of crores in capital and maintenance dredging. At 12 miles from the International shipping lanes, it is the best located port in India. Need we say more? :)

Another render:

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/1364/seyemainline1mz.jpg

Recent satellite shot of Vallarpadam & PuthuVype.

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/7064/vallsat01067tc.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Test piling and other construction activities have started at Vallarpadam on India's biggest Transshipment terminal being built by DP World consortium. Ground preparation is seen in the sat picture. Activities of Refineries, LNG terminal and petrochem plants has made a big difference compared to previous sat picture of PuthuVype.
Present terminal run by India Gateway Terminal Ltd is marked in green

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/238/towardssouthmainline8fe.jpg

Cochin Shipyard lays the keel for ambitious buildings

V. Sajeev Kumar


The public sector Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), in its 35th year, has chalked out an ambitious action plan to emerge as the leading yard in South-East Asia by 2015. The yard has drawn out a corporate plan based on positive economic growth and rising international trade. The CSL Chairman and Managing Director, Commodore M. Jitendran, said that the world ship-building output, which has trebled since the 1990s, is expected to grow with the continued rise in international trade and Asian economic development.

Hence, CSL feels that the market growth in this sector will be sustained by the economic development of the South-East Asian countries and surging international trade, he said. Moreover, the Indian shipping tonnage, which is hardly five per cent of the total overseas trade of India, is expected to grow thus spiralling the domestic demand for ships. CSL had also initiated some short-term plans that aimed at encouraging ancillary industries, investing in a small-ship division, speeding up the construction of the Navy's aircraft-carrier, and modernising facilities. full story (http://www.blonnet.com/2006/05/01/stories/2006050100160600.htm)

With second shipyard at Puthuvype on anvil, CSL is gearing up for building/repairing the
post-Panamax generation vessels.

http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/7538/containeryardvizhinjam4da.jpg

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/2023/closeupmainlinevesselvizhinjam.jpg

Here is Vizag port mapped on sat image - help needed for illustration :)

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2019/browse268237crsssat800sd.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6614/cochinboat5nt.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/2008/1409335346595d3dd92o3ro.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Sallylondon gallery

^^ sweet pic, nik!

meanwhile...

Goa Shipyard enters export market with fastest vessel (http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=4789)

Goa Shipyard Ltd, a naval shipyard, has entered the commercial market or, more precisely, the export defence market with a new high-speed patrol craft indigenously designed and built. With a success credit of building over 166 ships of various sizes till date, in addition to repair and maintenance of ships, GSL latest 35 knot Fast Petrol Vessel (FPV) is believed to be the fastest in the world in its category. The FPV has a competitive tag of Rs 45 crore. Export enquiries from Saarc countries are pouring in and to this effect GSL has set up an office in Thailand.

Within the coming 10 years, GSL plans to build new generation vessels, such as air cushion type landing crafts, mine counter measure vessels, pollution control vessels, rescue crafts, tankers, tugs of all types and hovercrafts. Towards this end, collaboration/MoU/transfer of technology agreements are being entered into with foreign shipyards for building these high technology vessels.

GSL has embarked on an export promotion drive through bidding for global tenders and participation abroad in exhibitions, seminars and presentations relating to shipbuilding capacities. The company is in process of forming a consortium of Indian defence shipyards, namely Mazagon Dock Ltd, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd and Goa Shipyard Ltd to seek assistance from RITES Ltd, a government company, to market products in the international markets.


http://www.projectsmonitor.com/Library/Goa-1.jpg
The indigenously designed and built 35 knots Fast Patrol Vessel

L&T plans $110 mn shipyard (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=90642&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will invest about $110 million to set up a shipyard to build huge vessels, including large crude carriers. The company is looking for a location, both on the eastern and western coasts of the country, to set up the shipyard.

M V Kotwal, senior executive vice-president - heavy engineering, said the project was part of the second phase of the company's ship building venture.

Also, the company would think of building very large crude carriers and highly specialised vessels, Kotwal said. L&T had won a Rs 440 crore contract last week from Netherland-based shipping company to build four heavy lift container cargo ships.

L&T also has plans to foray into defence ship building. "We have capabilities in both civilian and military areas. We are looking forward for some opportunities in the military space as well," he said.

The company is eyeing orders from the navy and cost guard for the construction of vessels as the government has already put in place necessary regulations to allow the private sector investment in defence production. L&T has received licences from the Union government for defence production.

Recently, along with Tata Power, L&T bagged Rs 172 crore worth order from the Indian Army for the production of Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers.

Let's hope things are sorted out fast....:) Kerala can ill-afford an industrial protest.

BR Petroleum asked to submit report after tank collapse
V. Sajeev Kumar

Kochi port denies allegations that storage tanks contained chemicals

Kochi , May 15

The Cochin Port Trust has asked Mumbai-based company BR Petroleum to submit a report immediately, following the collapse of one of the chemical storage tanks erected by the company in Willingdon Island on Sunday.

The port had leased out land to the company to set up eight tanks for storage of petroleum products and edible oils. Senior port officials who visited the accident site said all these tanks were in the construction stage and the tank, which collapsed was full of water — filled as part of test loading the capacity.

The cause of the accident would be revealed only after the company submits the report. The officials, however, dismissed the allegations that the tanks contain various chemicals imported through the port. It is pointed out that the tank started collapsing when the water filled in it as part of loading test was being drained out into another tank.

Residents protest

Meanwhile, protest is brewing among the residents in the locality at Vathuruthy near the Island over the decision of the port management to lease out lands to set up storage tanks. This is the third time in two years that such accidents have occurred. A benzene tank had caught fire in December 2004 and another tank collapsed in June last year killing one person.
Read the story in The Business Line (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/16/stories/2006051600770700.htm)

Hutchison awaits nod to bid for Chennai, Mumbai box terminals
Mamuni Das

Chennai Port Trust asks cos to extend validity of bids to Sept 15

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Bidding process
Chennai port has accepted bids for the container terminal, but is awaiting the clearance of all bidders before opening them.
Mumbai port is awaiting security clearances of bidders before accepting the financial bids.
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New Delhi , May 15

With the Government yet to give a security clearance to Hutchison Port Holdings to bid for container terminals at Chennai and Mumbai ports, the validity of bids for Chennai port terminal is fast approaching expiry.

In fact, the Chennai Port Trust has written to the bidders asking them to extend the validity of their bids to September 15 against the present date of June 1. Meanwhile, Mumbai port has again delayed the last date for accepting bids to June 15, according to sources.

For building and operating container terminals at Chennai and Mumbai ports, the Hong Kong-based Hutchison has bid along with Larsen & Toubro.

However, the entire bidding process for both the terminals has been hanging in balance, as the Government has not given a security clearance to Hutchison. The matter had been referred to the Cabinet Committee on Security, which further referred the issue to the National Security Advisor. Read the article in The Business Line (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/16/stories/2006051600700700.htm)

Wonder why the damn babus can't get a move on!!! :bash:

India's Gateway terminal to be ready in 30 months.

The first mainline vessel should be calling at Kochi soon

V. Sajeev Kumar

With the refurbishment of equipment and better vessels calling at Kochi, the terminal will be able to offer high quality facilities and services, in tune with international standards.

The design consultant for the Vallarpadam ICTT project will be appointed by May 25. All the soil excavation and test pile work have been completed. The design consultant is expected to enable tendering of the construction work by September. As per the present projection, the terminal will be ready to go on stream by December 2008. full story (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/22/stories/2006052200990600.htm)

Vizhinjam port work to be expedited

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , May 21

The development of Vizhinjam port, near here, into an international container trans-shipment terminal is high on the agenda of the newly sworn-in Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government in Kerala.

The Government would take immediate steps to get political clearance for the project from the Centre and the work was expected to begin within the next six months, Mr Vijayakumar, Minister for Ports, said here on Sunday. Full article in the Business Line (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/22/stories/2006052203711500.htm)

MVK, the new Ports Minister, is one of the staunchest supporters of the Rs 4,500 crore project - the single largest FDI in Kerala. Good thing that the new Govt. has its priorities right. :) Time to set the right the damage wrought by the last one! :bash:

As DPW has fixed the date of opening of Vallarpadam to be Dec. 2008, Road Rail connectivity is in full swing. Over 80% of acquisition for 4-lane road connectivity is over. Land for rail connectivity is being acquired.

Here is a plan from CPT website
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4049/advn1uu.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Dubai based DP World tightens its grip over India ports

On the east coast, DP World will operate the Chennai Container Terminal, the Visakha Container Terminal in Visakhapatnam and the one that is expected to come up at Kulpi in West Bengal.

The Indian Shipping Ministry, which had earlier voiced concerns over the near-monopolistic status of P&O Ports, is worried that the cabinet clearance to DP World to run terminals in Kochi and Visakhapatnam will lead to a virtual monopoly for the United Arab Emirates based entity in Indian container terminal operations. The statistics are revealing. In fiscal 2005-06, the aggregate throughput of all the public and private terminals at major Indian ports was 4.61m teu, including 2.66m teu at JNPT alone. If one were to add the throughput of the two private terminals at Mundra (239,969 teu) and Pipavav (87,938 teu), the total container traffic handled at all Indian ports came to 4.93m teu. The five Indian terminals under DP World, between them, handled 2.98m teu, which suggests that the UAE company would have a 64.6% market share that would make it an extremely dominant container operator, handling two out of every three containers moved in or out of India. Even so, Dr Jose Paul, former chairman of Mormugao Port Trust and also former acting chairman of JNPT, feels there is no cause for worry, as adequate competition to DP World is on the way. About 54% of India's container traffic is handled at JNPT in New Mumbai where the state-owned container terminal and NSICT (now under DP World) are significant operators, handling 1.34m and 1.32m teu, respectively. A third terminal, India Gateway Terminal, under the Maersk-Concor consortium, has just launched partial operations in April, and expects to get up to its full capacity of 1m teu by September this year. Mumbai Port Trust has been trying hard since September last year to get its plans for an offshore container terminal moving. But its moves have been consistently hampered by the reluctance of the cabinet committee for internal security to give clearance to one of the key bidders, Hutchison Port Holdings, which has Chinese ownership.

What's the big fuss now. DPW took over another MNC - P&O. What does this author
want to say - that business cannot be sold to another ?
Holding up clearances too on security grounds, like US Senate did, is funnier !!
If security issues vis-a-vis UAE and China why don't they freeze all the trade and travel with these countries ? Will they do it ? Why should Infosys, TCS and Wipro be allowed to operate from Shanghai and Dubai ? Won't they bug Chinese offices ? Incidently, this was the "reason" given by USA to block import of Lenovo machines for use administration !! :weird:

What's the big fuss now. DPW took over another MNC - P&O. What does this author
want to say - that business cannot be sold to another ?
Holding up clearances too on security grounds, like US Senate did, is funnier !!
If security issues vis-a-vis UAE and China why don't they freeze all the trade and travel with these countries ? Will they do it ? Why should Infosys, TCS and Wipro be allowed to operate from Shanghai and Dubai ? Won't they bug Chinese offices ? Incidently, this was the "reason" given by USA to block import of Lenovo machines for use administration !! :weird:

No matter where, a monopoly is always bad. For a country of the size of India, one single, foreign company operating most of its major ports is not advisable in view of its economic and strategic effects.

Dude, we can't even fathom the levels of spying the US and China do on each other.

No matter where, a monopoly is always bad. For a country of the size of India, one single, foreign company operating most of its major ports is not advisable in view of its economic and strategic effects.

Dude, we can't even fathom the levels of spying the US and China do on each other.

Almost all of top level management in DPW consists of British and other Europeans ? Did it bother UAE ?

Unfathomable are difficult to comment on in SSC, isn't so Kronik ? :)

What I do fathom is the acceptibility of Made-in-USA conspiracy theories among Indians.
When USA imposed humiliating fingerprint-for-visa norm in 2002 on all non-European, non Japanese visa seekers all the countries of the size of India, decried and retorted. Brazil even hit back by imposing same norm back on US visa seekers. Our Indian govt nodded head :yes: and accepted it all as part of "superior firangee wisdom". Well, let me not digress even further :)

No matter where, a monopoly is always bad. For a country of the size of India, one single, foreign company operating most of its major ports is not advisable in view of its economic and strategic effects.

Good point Kronik. It is not a question as much of which nation a firm as to whether it is forming a monopoly. We are talking economic logic here and not nationalistic fervour or regional paranoia. A single operator with 60-70% of market share does not promote competition does it, be it any sector - banking, airlines, FMCG....! And especially if that monopoly operator has business interests in competing ports outside the nation, as DPW has in Dubai and Colombo - for transshipment. I think, GoI should not discriminate based on nationality - beyond a certain threshold - but should certainly ensure that India's economic interests are not harmed. A upper cap can be set on the % of traffic a single operator can handle. This is done for most sectors, where M&A is closely scrutinised for monopoly formation. I am involved in M&A work, so I have a pretty gud idea. :)

Fortunately, the arrival of other operators like Hutchinson, AP Moller, CGA-CM, Maersk, CHEC and so on to take up new terminals like Mumbai Offshore, Chennai, Tuticorin, Vizhinjam etc will help to mitigate DPW's monopoly. :)

Dude, we can't even fathom the levels of spying the US and China do on each other.

Lol, now that's worth a thought! :D

Almost all of top level management in DPW consists of British and other Europeans ? Did it bother UAE ?

Unfathomable are difficult to comment on in SSC, isn't so Kronik ? :)

What I do fathom is the acceptibility of Made-in-USA conspiracy theories among Indians.
When USA imposed humiliating fingerprint-for-visa norm in 2002 on all non-European, non Japanese visa seekers all the countries of the size of India, decried and retorted. Brazil even hit back by imposing same norm back on US visa seekers. Our Indian govt nodded head :yes: and accepted it all as part of "superior firangee wisdom". Well, let me not digress even further :)

If you are implying that I am against DPW controlling most of our ports because the US didn't allow it, then you are dead wrong.

Lets keep this argument to the control of India's port, which, like i said before, should, ideally, remain in Indian hands. Sure foreign companies can run ports, but again, for the size and number of ports in India, it is important that one foreign company does not run most of them. It may be a company from Dubai, or it may be a company from the US, I dont care, I just dont want them controlling our top strategic ports.

It comes back to the case against monopoly. Like Ajay said before me, I do not want one foreign company controlling more than half of our ports.

i wouldnt want one company having a monopoly over ports. indian or otherwise. i dont think the nationality is an issue for me

coming to indian spying, let's not talk about it. we don't know what goes on in the intelligence world. let me just say our RAW is pretty deep into this shit.

one company having control of all ports is not good. but nationality shouldn't really matter as long as our law and security authorities have their jurisdiction on the location.

.
i wouldnt want one company having a monopoly over ports. indian or otherwise. i dont think the nationality is an issue for me

Bombay Boy,

I believe that in the “Port Management Contracts” there is a Clause to the Effect “Change of Ownership of the Management Contractors is Subject to the Approval of the Clients and same not to be unreasonably withheld”.

The following Article throws light on the subject :

DP World's India foray runs to murkier waters (http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2006/March/business_March594.xml&section=business)

DUBAI — Contrary to the strong assurance given in Dubai on Tuesday by Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath over the smooth transfer of P&O's India assets to DP World, opposition to the deal from various quarters is snowballing day by day amid increasing legal complexities.

Apart from the "monopoly issue" which has been fanning the controversy over DP World's India foray to a fever-pitch, two state government bodies have now come to the fore with yet another strong reason to block the deal — the breach of concession agreement by P&O.

During his Dubai visit, the Indian minister met top DP World officials and endorsed its acquisition of three Indian container terminals operated by P&O — Nhava Sheva in Mumbai, Chennai port and Mundra in Gujarat — and brushed aside criticisms that the takeover would give the Dubai company a monopoly status as it already runs two other terminals — in Kochi and Visakhapatnam. Operations in these five ports would give DP World some 50 per cent of India's container shipping traffic.

In the latest twist, the Chennai Port Trust is reportedly pondering a move to slap a show-cause notice on P&O Ports over violation of concession rights. Earlier, such a show cause notice was also served on P&O by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), the regulatory authority for ports in Gujarat, asking why its licence to operate Mundra International Container Terminal in Kutch should not be cancelled.

According to sources in India, Chennai Port Trust (CPT) had already sought approval of the ministry of shipping, road transport and highways to issue a notice for termination of the concession agreement between Chennai Port Trust and Chennai Container Terminal Pvt Ltd, operated by P&O Ports. CPT has already written to the ministry that the selling of business of Chennai Container Terminal (CCTPL) by P&O to DPW without prior permission of CPT had violated the provisions of certain concession agreement clauses.

GMB, which spearheaded the opposition to DPW's takeover, has also issued a show-cause notice to Gujarat Adani Port Limited (GAPL), with whom P&O had entered into a sub-concession agreement to operate Mundra International Container Terminal (MICT).

GMB has also raised the issue of dilution of equity of P&O Ports and transfer of property, assets and undertakings of MICTL without prior permission. A GMB official said the takeover of MICTL was a breach of the concession agreement.

"Under the sub-concession agreement, DP World cannot automatically take over or start operations in Mundra because of the undertaking that P&O Ports and GAPL have given that they cannot transfer equity, property, assets or management of Mundra port without prior permission from GMB and the Gujarat government," reports quoted him.

According to Indian sources, while a smooth transition is far from reality, DP World is also facing "poaching" of employees by rival port operators. Some key terminal employees at Mundra and Nhava Sheva have quit their positions, while some other vital staff such as crane operators and managers are leaving the company.

Cheers

thats a normal clause in any contract naresh. similar to leasing out your property. a sub-lease cannot be created without a NOC from the landlord

i find this interesting

"Subject to the Approval of the Clients and same not to be unreasonably withheld"

not to be unreasonably witheld. does this mean the state governments have to give very strong reasons not to allow transfer? and how much power do state governments have over major ports like nhava and chennai?

.
Bombay Boy,

1. In an ordinary Property Lease contract – depending upon the size of a property – there may be no sub-lease provisions.

2. I, not being conversant with the Terms of the Mundra or other Agreements, cannot give an exact answer and as such I cannot quantify the period of time the term “and same not to be unreasonably withheld” or other terms-conditions may involve. It is of course for the Legal Eagles to come up with a solution.

Basically, in my experience, when such changes of ownership-management are involved the Original Owners discuss the matter with the Clients but in the case of the P & O Sale to DPW it seems that P & O did not even bother to sound out its Clients.

As such the Indian Authorities in Charge of the various Ports where P & O have had a Management Contract would most probably – if not reject outright – be in a strong position to get reasonable concessions from P & O prior to the handing over to DPW.

One would shudder to think as to the outcome if DPW nominated Executives of Indian Origin to their Pakistani Port Operations or nominate Executives of Pakistani Origin to their Indian Port Operations.

Of course the Indians may accept it just like they accepted over 50% of the Kolkata Port Trust Floating Staff being Pakistani Citizens (1947-1972) and a considerable figure being Bangladeshi Citizens (1972 Onwards)

Note : You will have noticed that India and Iran agreed to a contract for the supply of 5 or 7.5 Million tonnes of LNG Annually for 20 years subject to Iranian Parliament Approval-Sanction

The Iranian Parliament did not Approve-Sanction and now the Iranians have doubled the Price for “renewed negotiations”

Cheers

If you are implying that I am against DPW controlling most of our ports because the US didn't allow it, then you are dead wrong.

Lets keep this argument to the control of India's port, which, like i said before, should, ideally, remain in Indian hands. Sure foreign companies can run ports, but again, for the size and number of ports in India, it is important that one foreign company does not run most of them. It may be a company from Dubai, or it may be a company from the US, I dont care, I just dont want them controlling our top strategic ports.

It comes back to the case against monopoly. Like Ajay said before me, I do not want one foreign company controlling more than half of our ports.

**Its true that for the next few decades DPW will not have big competitors in transshipment, since they won contract for Vallarpadam. But that was the case any operator, who would have bagged Vallarpadam.

** DPW's purchase of P&O and CSX have given them monopoly in many key ports in UK and HongKong. That is by default !! If, thru one buy out DPW's share shot up from 15% to 65% - it means P&O already had a stranglehold over Indian ports - none seemed to have been bothered about this. Okay, I'm for monopoly restriction act. This cannot be resolved that easily as long as we have private capital based development.
Can you say, business cannot be sold to another ? Only resolution I've come across is by splitting business. This too hardly resolves the conundrum.

** The other point went unnoticed is - it fosters corruption. From the point of view of a company which loses a bid, be it expansion of existing terminals or greenfield like Vallarpadam, they can always rake up the monopoly (or even security) issues against the winner. This brings political leadership and bureaucracy into the issue and immediately opens scope for massive scams - sobataging the whole purpose of transparent bidding. This is why I quoted Lenovos case - any US major who lose out to Chinese cos in bids can now easily bribe the administration, rake up security threat perception and snatch the contracts !! See the case of aerobridges - and look at the differences, Chinese firm quoted Rs.80 cr while ThyssenKrupp bid Rs 190 cr. Now contract is going to be denied for Chinese on security grounds :)

(In the above article what the author alleges as corruption does not make sense - DPW have already won the bid for P&O and dont need any politician to help the takeover)

An aside, DPW is Dubai govt owned. a good example that PSUs can be grown to this standards :)

**Its true that for the next few decades DPW will not have big competitors in transshipment, since they won contract for Vallarpadam. But that was the case any operator, who would have bagged Vallarpadam.

Very interesting statement, lol! With new deepwater terminals like Mundra, Vizhinjam, Tuticorin and others set to commence operations by 2010, DPW will face strong competition. More importantly, the 70% share of transshipment in Indian cargo held by foreign ports like Colombo and Dubai, where co-incidentally DPW-P&O have control, will be drastically reduced. This alone will be a blow to DPW. You seem to assume that even with these projects and existing ones like JNPT undergoing expansion, Vallarpadam will be the market leader. Quite a stretch, isn't it?

Okay, I'm for monopoly restriction act.This cannot be resolved that easily as long as we have private capital based development.
Can you say, business cannot be sold to another ? Only resolution I've come across is by splitting business. This too hardly resolves the conundrum.

Nik, isn't that a contradiction, considering the fact that anti-monopoly litigation and regulation is the strongest in capitalist economies like the US and Europe? Many large firms have been broken upto avoid monopoly. Even market shares of 30% have resulted in regulators calling for breaking up mergers, even those of firms like GE. In fact, it is the very economics of capitalism which say that a monopoly results in a sub-optimal market situation, right? :)

See the case of aerobridges - and look at the differences, Chinese firm quoted Rs.80 cr while ThyssenKrupp bid Rs 190 cr. Now contract is going to be denied for Chinese on security grounds :)

I agree totally.:) Co.s should not be denied contracts because of their nationality unless there is a substantiated threat. The example of the aerobridges pales into significance when one considers the denial of permission for Chinese co.s to move forward in such massive projects as the Rs 1,800 crore Offshore Container Terminal in Mumbai and Rs 4,600 Crore Vizhinjam Deep-water Transshipment Terminal. Hope that is resolved soon! :)

An aside, DPW is Dubai govt owned. a good example that PSUs can be grown to this standards
Another aside. DPW is owned by the Dubai Govt. But the shekhs are not exactly democratic are they, which means DPW is as good or bad as a privately held firm. Not quite "Public" Sector, is it? :D Good for them, though! :)

Very interesting statement, lol! With new deepwater terminals like Mundra, Vizhinjam, Tuticorin and others set to commence operations by 2010, DPW will face strong competition. More importantly, the 70% share of transshipment in Indian cargo held by foreign ports like Colombo and Dubai, where co-incidentally DPW-P&O have control, will be drastically reduced. This alone will be a blow to DPW. You seem to assume that even with these projects and existing ones like JNPT undergoing expansion, Vallarpadam will be the market leader. Quite a stretch, isn't it?



I know that JNPT (a host of operators), Tuticorin (PSA) are operated by competent firms.
JNPT & Mundra are far away from int'l shipping channels. In fact PSA will give competition for Vallarapadam. For a few decades to come this will be the sole competitor.
Govt of India appointed expert committee of parliamenterians, in 1997, identified Vallarpadam as the key transshipment terminal of future for the same reason. That's why a firm like DPW offered hitherto unheard 33.3% revenue share and bagged the project. If it didn't have that potential it would have ended with some fencesitting infrastructure developers which, at best , build toll bridges and and sewage lines :)


Nik, isn't that a contradiction, considering the fact that anti-monopoly litigation and regulation is the strongest in capitalist economies like the US and Europe? Many large firms have been broken upto avoid monopoly. Even market shares of 30% have resulted in regulators calling for breaking up mergers, even those of firms like GE. In fact, it is the very economics of capitalism which say that a monopoly results in a sub-optimal market situation, right? :)

Exactly !! This what I have said clearly - within capitalist development you cannot resolve this paradox satisfactorily - even thru break ups :)


The example of the aerobridges pales into significance when one considers the denial of permission for Chinese co.s to move forward in such massive projects as the Rs 1,800 crore Offshore Container Terminal in Mumbai and Rs 4,600 Crore Vizhinjam Deep-water Transshipment Terminal. Hope that is resolved soon! :)

I heard of Hutchison bid held up due to security issues. That's the only one thus far
reported in news.
But its moves have been consistently hampered by the reluctance of the cabinet committee for internal security to give clearance to one of the key bidders, Hutchison Port Holdings, which has Chinese ownership.
This also involves FDI. So, like Vallarpadam, it needs FIPB or CCEA clearance. I know of no other FDI funded project hanging in fire.



Another aside. DPW is owned by the Dubai Govt. But the shekhs are not exactly democratic are they, which means DPW is as good or bad as a privately held firm. Not quite "Public" Sector, is it? :D Good for them, though! :)

Then why did China "privatize" their PSUs :) Everything is held by communist part appointed bosses !! For that matter - why did Dubai themselves "nationalize" their petro industry ? They could equally well have been left to Shell or Caltex - as in their pre-independence era. In fact this is what enabled
then to get large revenue for funding a good social security cover for their citizens. So practically - the biggest part of the funds are going into public welfare. (Nowadays, even education is being funded by state in gulf states- after neglecting it for decades.) And sheik is expected to only manage and rule for people (I dont mean there is no swindling by sheik, but in principle this is how it is and it works for the most part.)
Even in autocratic Dubai political decisions are political decisions. And an administration is an administration. Until wisdom dawns on their citizens - a large majority of whom approve their system - they will be under Caliphs and Emirs, AND that will be their government (not sheik's private ltd company)

Exactly !! This what I have said clearly - within capitalist development you cannot resolve this paradox satisfactorily - even thru break ups :)

Well, you seem confused. What is happening in the real world is that monopoly restriction is being practiced very well and fully along capitalist economic principles. In fact, it is applied in all infrastructural projects in India like airports, ports, roads etc. If you check up on the bidding for the Mumbai and Delhi airports, you will notice that the bidders were prevented from bidding for more than one airport, eventhough the airports on offer were only two of the top six airports - the others being Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Also, as some of the other forumers mentioned, P&O is legally bound to get permission from its clients - various State Govt.s/maritime authorities before executing the merger. And this has not been done.

I heard of Hutchison bid held up due to security issues. That's the only one thus far reported in news.

This also involves FDI. So, like Vallarpadam, it needs FIPB or CCEA clearance. I know of no other FDI funded project hanging in fire.

I think you have been reading very limited news then.:) The $ 1 billion Vizhinjam International Transshipment Terminal was picked by the ports construction giant, China Harbour Engineering Company. This project has also been referred to the CCEA for security clearance. :bash: At $ 1 billion, it is one of the biggest FDIs in infrastructure in India.

(I dont mean there is no swindling by sheik, but in principle this is how it is and it works for the most part.) Even in autocratic Dubai political decisions are political decisions. And an administration is an administration. Until wisdom dawns on their citizens - a large majority of whom approve their system - they will be under Caliphs and Emirs, AND that will be their government (not sheik's private ltd company)

While casting no aspersions on the good sheikh, I wouldn't be so naive as to put them in the "angelic" bracket. And I believe the citizens of the Gulf nations are wise enough to go in for democracy, unless you have evidence to the contrary. Last time, I checked, the current form of Govt. is called monarchy or autocracy. And we were talking about the public sector, which means indirect ownership by the people, through direct ownership by a democratically elected Govt.

As an aside, DPW is owned by the Nakheel Group, which is a privately held company, whose chairman is a member of the royal family. Other than that it has no pretenses to being a "PSU". :) Check the Nakheel website (http://www.nakheel.ae/default.aspx)

Anyways, these discussions are tangential to our main point. Whether a monopoly should be allowed or not, in a sector as strategic as ports? We are not discussing the nationality or ownership model of the prospective monopolist. The answer is a resounding "NO" and I think this sentiment will soon be borne out in a series of legal battles, which may force DPW to relinquish many of its holdings. :) Let's confine our discussion to this vein. Looking for more opinions! :)

Dubai group seeks to run Pak port

A Dubai-based investment group, Nakheel Group Investment of which Dubai Ports World is a part, is understood to have shown interest in running Gwadar port, Pakistan's largest deep-water port. The first phase of the port will be ready for operation within a few months, it is learnt.

A delegation of the investment group, during its recent visit to Pakistan, expressed a desire to enter into a long-term arrangement with the Pakistani Government for management and operational control of the port. Islamabad had earlier stated that it was in favour of leaving the operation of the port to an international port management company.

Also, it would like to develop the second phase of the Gwadar port on BOT basis. It might be noted that DP World operates one container terminal in India, Visakhapatnam, and has secured contract for operating another at Kochi and would control three other ports, Nhava Sheva, Chennai and Mundra, by virtue of its takeover of P&O Ports.

Source: The Business Line, May 29

New shipping service between Tuticorin port, US east coast

Our Bureau

To benefit exporters in Tirupur, Karur and Bangalore

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the first time, Tuticorin will be directly connected to the Mediterranean Port through the service.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chennai , May 28

A consortium of shipping lines has launched a new service to provide direct service between Tuticorin and the US East Coast. Also, for the first time, Tuticorin will be directly connected to the Mediterranean Port (Barcelona in Spain) through the service.

Called IDX, the regular weekly service will call at Tuticorin every Thursday. The first vessel Zim Mumbai called at the port on May 26 to unload 50 TEUs (twenty equivalent unit) and load 184 TEUs, according to a Tuticorin Port Trust press release. The consortium will be operated by ZIM Integrated Shipping Lines, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Emirates Shipping Lines (ESL) and MAC Andrews Company. Zim will operate three of the eight vessels while SCI and ESL will deploy two vessels each. MAC will deploy one vessel. The vessel sizes are 2,500-2,600 TEUs.

The port of rotation will be Colombo, Tuticorin, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Barcelona, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Barcelona and Colombo.

Source: The Business Line, May 29

The article says that Tuticorin has become the only port in South India with a direct connection to the US. Sad state of affairs, guess the new deep-water container terminals will improve things soon. :)

.
Ajaypp,

Bravo!

It is good to see that the Arabs (ESL) will work together with the Israelis (Zim).

The port of rotation will be Colombo, Tuticorin, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Barcelona, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Barcelona and Colombo.

If the Vessels are calling at Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Turitcorin then why would it need to call at Colombo?

Cheers

Well, you seem confused. What is happening in the real world is that monopoly restriction is being practiced very well and fully along capitalist economic principles. In fact, it is applied in all infrastructural projects in India like airports, ports, roads etc. If you check up on the bidding for the Mumbai and Delhi airports, you will notice that the bidders were prevented from bidding for more than one airport, eventhough the airports on offer were only two of the top six airports - the others being Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Also, as some of the other forumers mentioned, P&O is legally bound to get permission from its clients - various State Govt.s/maritime authorities before executing the merger. And this has not been done.

There is no confusion. You have said nothing new. P&O was barred once from taking over
Vallarpadam due to same reason. But what happened was another company which won Vallarpadam took over P&O. Same could happen in airport case too, say, if GVK takes over GMR.
This is what happened in port sector. This is only one way. There are umpteen more ways monopoly can creep in.




The $ 1 billion Vizhinjam International Transshipment Terminal was picked by the ports construction giant, China Harbour Engineering Company. This project has also been referred to the CCEA for security clearance. :bash: At $ 1 billion, it is one of the biggest FDIs in infrastructure in India.

Can you show a single news item saying that this has FDI and need CCEA clearance, at least one news item ?

CCEA means Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs. It does not give security clearance :) Nobody has ever said that so called "Vizhinjam" project is in front of CCEA. Nobody has applied for permission for FDI.
A Bombay based company called Zoom is the lead bidder (according to the news). (The 2 Chinese companies are needed to technically qualify, and neither has ever said they will invest)Even after approving their bid, Kerala govt has said that capital is expected to be raised thru' nationalised banks and from market. After approving the bid they "showcased" it at Pravasi Bhartiya Divas for luring "investors". If there is FDI why would they look for investors. :)

I think you have been reading very limited news then.:)
I do not subscribe to "news items" that appears only in some SSC thread and are typed by "non-news agencies" :)


While casting no aspersions on the good sheikh, I wouldn't be so naive as to put them in the "angelic" bracket. And I believe the citizens of the Gulf nations are wise enough to go in for democracy, unless you have evidence to the contrary. Last time, I checked, the current form of Govt. is called monarchy or autocracy. And we were talking about the public sector, which means indirect ownership by the people, through direct ownership by a democratically elected Govt. As an aside, DPW is owned by the Nakheel Group, which is a privately held company, whose chairman is a member of the royal family. Other than that it has no pretenses to being a "PSU". :) Check the Nakheel website (http://www.nakheel.ae/default.aspx)

A company, parts of whose proceeds goes into funding public welfare of the whole country, cannot be a bona fide "private" company. Just like India's Navaratnas it is managed by professionals
(However comparison ends there). It is as much a "PSU" as Dubai's sheik's administration is a "government".



Anyways, these discussions are tangential to our main point.



No problem, you raised a contention, I responded :)

Source: The Business Line, May 29

The article says that Tuticorin has become the only port in South India with a direct connection to the US. Sad state of affairs, guess the new deep-water container terminals will improve things soon. :)

The deep water port at Cochin will soon receive main line vessels providing connections to US, Europe and China according to IGTL sources. Here is news item from The Hindu BL for "unlimited" reading :)

The first mainline vessel should be calling at Kochi soon

V. Sajeev Kumar

With the refurbishment of equipment and better vessels calling at Kochi, the terminal will be able to offer high quality facilities and services, in tune with international standards.

The design consultant for the Vallarpadam ICTT project will be appointed by May 25. All the soil excavation and test pile work have been completed. The design consultant is expected to enable tendering of the construction work by September. As per the present projection, the terminal will be ready to go on stream by December 2008. full story (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/22/stories/2006052200990600.htm)

There is no confusion. You have said nothing new. P&O was barred once from taking over Vallarpadam due to same reason. But what happened was another company which won Vallarpadam took over P&O. Same could happen in airport case too, say, if GVK takes over GMR.
This is what happened in port sector. This is only one way. There are umpteen more ways monopoly can creep in.

Lol, if that unlikely event, of GMR-GVK merger happens, it will certainly be blocked by the courts and regulators.

Can you show a single news item saying that this has FDI and need CCEA clearance, at least one news item ?

CCEA means Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs. It does not give security clearance :) Nobody has ever said that so called "Vizhinjam" project is in front of CCEA. Nobody has applied for permission for FDI.
A Bombay based company called Zoom is the lead bidder (according to the news). (The 2 Chinese companies are needed to technically qualify, and neither has ever said they will invest)Even after approving their bid, Kerala govt has said that capital is expected to be raised thru' nationalised banks and from market. After approving the bid they "showcased" it at Pravasi Bhartiya Divas for luring "investors". If there is FDI why would they look for investors. :)


I do not subscribe to "news items" that appears only in some SSC thread and are typed by "non-news agencies" :)

One should not definitely not subscribe to doubtful sources. I hope The Business Line is a believeable source? It would be prudent to go through the following articles:

GoK Selects Chinese Consortium (http://www.blonnet.com/2006/01/19/stories/2006011900590700.htm)

This one spells out the consortium is Chinese-led and that Zoom has been roped in as an Indian partner, as is mandatory under law. It also explains that the project cost is about Rs 4,500 crores - $ 1 billion and since it is being made by Chinese firms, I think it qualifies as "Phoren Investment" :) Btw, the Govt. debt support is only of the tune of Rs 100 crores, which is much lesser than the 400-odd crores needed from GoK and GoI for projects like DPW's much vaunted Vallarpadam. In the case of Vallarpadam, Cochin Port also has to additionally spend close to Rs 500 crores on capital dredging alone for the new terminal. I would say Vizhinjam is a good proposition by your yard stick.:)

CHEC Website (http://www.chec.bj.cn/eout/default.jsp) CHEC is a $ 5.5 billion engineering giant, which specialises in marine engineering. It has build hundreds of berths including the ports at Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and so on. In India, it is the consultant for the Bandra-Worli Sealink and a bidder for the Sewri-Sheva Transharbour Link, among other projects. :)

And I am sorry, I meant it was awaiting clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). A slip of the pen...lol!

The Hindu on Security Clearance for Vizhinjam (http://www.thehindu.com/2006/03/01/stories/2006030104050500.htm)

Another article in The Hindu discussing the Vizhinjam and Hutchinson issues (http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/15/stories/2006021507030400.htm)

More news from the Financial Express (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=115573)

Hope the news links are solid enough? :)

A company, parts of whose proceeds goes into funding public welfare of the whole country, cannot be a bona fide "private" company. Just like India's Navaratnas it is managed by professionals
(However comparison ends there). It is as much a "PSU" as Dubai's sheik's administration is a "government".

No problem, you raised a contention, I responded :)

Maybe, you could also explain how Nakheel/DPW's profits go into funding private welfare. Is it so because the Chairman is a member of the royal family. By that logic, Bill Gates donated a billion dollars to charity, does that make Microsoft a PSU? :D

Just my $ 0.02, now let's get back to the main issue, shall we?

This one spells out the consortium is Chinese-led and that Zoom has been roped in as an Indian partner, as is mandatory under law. It also explains that the project cost is about Rs 4,500 crores - $ 1 billion and since it is being made by Chinese firms, I think it qualifies as "Phoren Investment" :) Btw, the Govt. debt support is only of the tune of Rs 100 crores, which is much lesser than the 400-odd crores needed from GoK and GoI for projects like DPW's much vaunted Vallarpadam. In the case of Vallarpadam, Cochin Port also has to additionally spend close to Rs 500 crores on capital dredging alone for the new terminal. I would say Vizhinjam is a good proposition by your yard stick.:)

Here is the news item in full
GoK Selects Chinese Consortium (http://www.blonnet.com/2006/01/19/stories/2006011900590700.htm)

Vizhinjam container terminal — Kerala Cabinet clears Chinese consortium bid

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , Jan. 18

THE Kerala Cabinet has cleared the tender submitted by a Chinese consortium for developing the proposed international container transshipment terminal at Vizhinjam near here.

The consortium comprises two Chinese companies - Kaidi Electrical Power Company and China Harbour Engineering Company - and the Mumbai-based Zoom Developers.

The Ports Department had received two techno-economic bids for the project. Apart from the Chinese consortium, the Mumbai-based Gammon India was also in the fray and the tender evaluation committee, at its sitting a week ago, had zeroed in on the bid submitted by the consortium.

According to department officials, the debt support of Rs 98.73 crore sought by the consortium was lower than what the Government had expected and this clinched the issue in favour of the consortium. The company will repay the amount to the Government from the eleventh year onwards.

The total cost of the project is Rs 4,360 crore. The development of the terminal may be taken up in three phases with the first phase costing Rs 1,850 crore. The projected outlays for the second and third phases are Rs 990 crore and Rs 1,520 crore, respectively

Of the total cost, the Government's commitment will be Rs 335 crore. Besides the debt support of Rs 98.73 crore, the Government will extend revenue support of Rs 19.8 crore and also spend Rs 80 crore for the development of basic infrastructure.

The Government will have equity participation to the tune of Rs 136.4 crore in the joint venture company that will take up the implementation of the project. The Government, meanwhile, has sought project viability gap funding of Rs 370 crore from the Centre.

The terminal, being developed on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, will be returned to the State Government without any financial liabilities after 30 years.

The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, would be requested to lay the foundation stone for the project during the latter's proposed visit to the State next month.

Where in is it said that this is FDI ?? In fact after approving "investment" why do Govt need investment from NRIs ?? They showcased it at Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2006. see below :)


Kerala eyeing investments from NRIs
Agencies, Saturday January 7, 2006

http://www.centralchronicle.com/20060107/0701142.htm

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 6 Kerala, which is expecting around 200 non-resident Keralites (NRKs) to arrive for the Hyderabad diaspora conclave, will go all out to showcase the state's investment opportunities at the three-day meet which begins Saturday.

According to Jiji Thompson, secretary of the Non-Resident Keralite Affairs Department (Norka), a special pavilion to showcase Kerala and its investment opportunities will be put up at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) meet.

The state will also make three different presentations relating to employment opportunities, coping up with geriatric problems and have a full-fledged Gulf Session, said the senior bureaucrat.

'There would be three key presentations by the Kerala team. I would be presenting the issues faced by the old age community in Kerala whose children are abroad. The government's initiative to tackle this issue also would be highlighted. Then there would be another presentation on the employment opportunities,' said Thomson.

Senior bureaucrats from the industry and tourism departments and also a few legislators will attend the meet.

The Kerala pavilion would showcase the latest investment opportunities, including the proposed Kannur Airport, Air Kerala and Vizhinjam Port.

MM Hassan, former Non resident Keralite (NRK) minister and senior Congress legislator, said he would be chairing the Gulf Session.

'We expect close to 200 Keralites from several countries to be present,' said Hassan, also chairman of Roots-Norka, the state government agency for NRKs.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is expected to arrive on Jan 9 and take up the proposed labour rules being discussed in Gulf countries to limit the work period of unskilled category foreign nationals to six years.

Of the nearly 18 lakh Keralites in various Gulf countries, close to 70 percent come under the unskilled category. Over the years the Kerala economy has been sustained by remittances made by the NRKs.

The total NRK deposit in Kerala banks currently stands at an all time high of more than Rs 320 billion, of which more than 80 percent is from the Middle-East countries.

More than 2,000 delegates are expected to attend the fourth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas annual conclave, which is aimed to connect with the 25 lakh Indians spread across 110 countries. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the conclave.



And I am sorry, I meant it was awaiting clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). A slip of the pen...lol!

As you yourself admitted, only CCS clearance is sought .

But for $ 1 billion investment CCEA nod is needed !! Why has this not been applied for ?? I know the reason :) But the "believers" like you must know why an "FDI" funded project has not sought CCEA clearance !! :)



Maybe, you could also explain how Nakheel/DPW's profits go into funding private welfare. Is it so because the Chairman is a member of the royal family. By that logic, Bill Gates donated a billion dollars to charity, does that make Microsoft a PSU? :D

Just my $ 0.02, now let's get back to the main issue, shall we?

I expected you to say this and you did :) Do you think the the profits of assets owned by Royals of Dubai which funds public welfare every year thru budgets are "donations of charity" ?? :) Microsoft chairman has an option of refusing to fund "welfare". But Dubai royals don't !! They are the government of Dubai - however autocratic, bigotic they are.


More - DPW is govt of Dubai owned and that is the reason US mentioned to quash the P&O takeover.
Here is wikipedia's authentic updation which starts by saying...
DP World is a company owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Ports_World

The Kerala pavilion would showcase the latest investment opportunities, including the proposed Kannur Airport, Air Kerala and Vizhinjam Port.

Does the article say anywhere, that GoK was looking for NRI investment in the Port itself?? :D I think you are just reading in between the lines where there is nothing to read. GoK is just showcasing its best investment opportunity so far. A deep water port will create opportunities for thousands of crores of investments like freight SEZs, port-based industries, cruise terminals and so on, and our NRIs would queue upto to invest in those. :)

Of the total cost, the Government's commitment will be Rs 335 crore. Besides the debt support of Rs 98.73 crore, the Government will extend revenue support of Rs 19.8 crore and also spend Rs 80 crore for the development of basic infrastructure.

The debt support asked for is Rs 98.73 crores and overall support from GoK and GoI will be to the tune of Rs 300 crores which is marginal for a Rs 4,500 crore project, especially when compared to smaller projects in the same state which are asking for upto Rs 900 crores of external assistance to get going. :) Btw, thanks for posting the whole article. :)

As you yourself admitted, only CCS clearance is sought .
But for $ 1 billion investment CCEA nod is needed !! Why has this not been applied for ?? I know the reason But the "believers" like you must know why an "FDI" funded project has not sought CCEA clearance !!

Did I say "only" CCS clearance is sought anywhere? Read more closely next time. :) If you would check the links attached, you would have seen that clearances from all concerned GoI agencies have been sought but CCS is the main road block. Also, since Vizhinjam is under GoK jurisdiction, financial matters are easier to handle than "national security" matters. :)

I expected you to say this and you did Do you think the the profits of assets owned by Royals of Dubai which funds public welfare every year thru budgets are "donations of charity" ?? Microsoft chairman has an option of refusing to fund "welfare". But Dubai royals don't !! They are the government of Dubai - however autocratic, bigotic they are.

Since you have clairavoyance and intimate knowledge of the finances of Dubai, I rest my case. :) As an aside, any firm pays taxes, which are used by the Govt. of a nation to fund public welfare. By that logic, Exxon Mobil and Walmart are the world's biggest "PSU"s, correct? All I am saying is that as long as every penny of Nakheel's profit goes into a public coffer and the Govt. of Dubai is not completely liable for its actions, Nakheel/DPW is not a "PSU" as we know it. Also, I would like to give more credence to the Nakheel Website, than to Wikipedia. After all, we were discussing "solid" sources of information, earlier, right? :) Cheers!

Does the article say anywhere, that GoK was looking for NRI investment in the Port itself?? :D I think you are just reading in between the lines where there is nothing to read. GoK is just showcasing its best investment opportunity so far. A deep water port will create opportunities for thousands of crores of investments like freight SEZs, port-based industries, cruise terminals and so on, and our NRIs would queue upto to invest in those. :)

All the above project requires investors and govt has said it time and again.
Oh yes... the minister himself said that they are confident of raising capital from nationalised banks and domestic market. They registered "a company and hopes to mop up investments even after "suitors" won the project :D



The debt support asked for is Rs 98.73 crores and overall support from GoK and GoI will be to the tune of Rs 300 crores which is marginal for a Rs 4,500 crore project, especially when compared to smaller projects in the same state which are asking for upto Rs 900 crores of external assistance to get going. :) Btw, thanks for posting the whole article. :)

Only viable projects get funding. Unviable ones get con bidders and fluster all the time :)


Did I say "only" CCS clearance is sought anywhere? Read more closely next time. :) If you would check the links attached, you would have seen that clearances from all concerned GoI agencies have been sought but CCS is the main road block. Also, since Vizhinjam is under GoK jurisdiction, financial matters are easier to handle than "national security" matters. :)

Govt of Kerala has never applied for CCEA clearance.I suppose you have not applied for CCEA clearance. If you can give a single news link saying that there is CCEA
clearance required, I would be grateful.


Since you have clairavoyance and intimate knowledge of the finances of Dubai, I rest my case. :) As an aside, any firm pays taxes, which are used by the Govt. of a nation to fund public welfare. By that logic, Exxon Mobil and Walmart are the world's biggest "PSU"s, correct? All I am saying is that as long as every penny of Nakheel's profit goes into a public coffer and the Govt. of Dubai is not completely liable for its actions, Nakheel/DPW is not a "PSU" as we know it. Also, I would like to give more credence to the Nakheel Website, than to Wikipedia. After all, we were discussing "solid" sources of information, earlier, right? :) Cheers!

Wikipedia is an authentic site. It is not as easy to type in some junk there - like the way you do in SSC :D
If you want Dubai govt themselves claimed the ownership in front of US Senate committee and took up the case of US ports.

All the above project requires investors and govt has said it time and again.Oh yes... the minister himself said that they are confident of raising capital from nationalised banks and domestic market. They registered "a company and hopes to mop up investments even after "suitors" won the project :D

Now we have stopped believing our own quotes is it? Or is it that the media is not "solid" enough? :D The company, Vizhinjam International Seaports Ltd, is an SPV set up for the project, which is the case for any mega-project these days. :)

Only viable projects get funding. Unviable ones get con bidders and fluster all the time :)

Unviable ones need 900 hundred crores of external help to get going?!! Lol.

Govt of Kerala has never applied for CCEA clearance.I suppose you have not applied for CCEA clearance. If you can give a single news link saying that there is CCEA clearance required, I would be grateful.

How about a single news link stating it has NOT applied, IF required? Shall I ask the Fin Min to send you a CC: ? :)

Wikipedia is an authentic site. It is not as easy to type in some junk there - like the way you do in SSC :D

More authentic than the company's own site? As for junk, I leave the judgement to the readers. :)

How about a single news link stating it has NOT applied, IF required?



Heights :laugh: Something is true if some "pp" says it and no Minister has denied it...
HA HA HA Didn't know you r that big a shark :hahaha:

Only place it is mentioned as FDI is your ramblings in SSC thread. You expect a minister to deny your highness's "statements" by saying "permission for FDI has not been applied for" ? :lol: :lol:

Tomorrow you may write in SSC that "Microsoft shifting from Seattle to Trivandrum" and claim it to be true becoz none has denied it. Sorry boss, sane people dont have time to waste on tom, dick n harry talk.

Hence the so called "Vizhinjam" is not claimed to have any FDI according to news items and only place a claim otherwise appears is skyscrapercity and typed in by you and some of your friends :)

More authentic than the company's own site? As for junk, I leave the judgement to the readers. :)

You have shown some phoney claims in some arbitrary website. DPW's own website is the following

http://www.dpworld.com/

You had never quoted this.

Wikipedia is an authentic encyclopedia and is prepared by experts in the respective fields and not some arbitrary message board . That it is Dubai Govt owned is reported by Reuters, AFP and I couldn't care less what some "pp" pukes in SSC thread.

Links from Reuters, AFP


from reuters

State-owned Dubai Ports World surrendered to unrelenting criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in giving up the management of some terminals at six major U.S. ports.
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nN10208783&

from reuters

And Dubai Ports World, which is a relatively new venture launched by the government of Dubai in 1999, has a number of Americans well known in the shipping industry in its senior leadership.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1161466,00.html

from AFP
Mohammed Sharaf, the chief executive of the container-port operator controlled by the Dubai government, told AFP in an interview

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060509/ts_alt_afp/usuaeportpolitics_060509185349


More links on demand from other readers :D

^^ - Hilarious stuff! :D Keep on tying urself in loops, but pls don't waste space on this thread. Thanks. :)

Lol, as aside, none of us cares whether some babu-style application for FDI has been made or not. We care about the project. Now, if you want to babble about it so that you can keep claiming your pet project is the "biggest FDI in Kerala", please feel free to do so! :) No one minds or cares, we won't ask if Form 31/B/C...watever has been filed by your pet project either. You can also claim it is the "biggest FDI this side of Saturn". It'll be the same for us! :D

Let's leave it at that shall we? I rest my case. Let's get back to real news, please.

^^ - Hilarious stuff! :D Keep on tying urself in loops, but pls don't waste space on this thread. Thanks. :)

Lol, as aside, none of us cares whether some babu-style application for FDI has been made or not. We care about the project. Now, if you want to babble about it so that you can keep claiming your pet project is the "biggest FDI in Kerala", please feel free to do so! :)

Exactly, as you admitted above, you dont care to know whether there is FDI involved, but dont mind to shoot from the hip by saying this is biggest FDI funded project. Never mind, there is enought space in SSC for you to key in any crap you want :D

Once again you all have managed to hijack this thread into a Cochin-Trivandrum cockfight.

Once again you all have managed to hijack this thread into a Cochin-Trivandrum cockfight.

Righty said Kronik, but what can we do if some people are persistent to create trouble everywhere!!!

See the turn of events, the discussion was about monopoly of Ports and from Post No: 204 onwards the issue became whether the investment on a new deep water port is FDI or not and other silly things..

There was a good dose of debates happening and we have seen the advent of a knowledgeable newcomer; Naresh, it seems he too has been turned off by this. Naresh, we expect more valuable inputs from you.. :)

Well said, Sudheesh. :) Now, back to the staple of the forum:

Coast Guard, Navy rescue crew members of Ocean Sekaya

Our Bureau

Mangalore , May 30

The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy have rescued 20 crew members of a sinking ship at Karwar Port in the Uttara Kannada district on Tuesday.

The Coast Guard used helicopters to rescue 16 crew members from the merchant vessel Ocean Sekaya. The vessel was flying Panama flag and collided with rocks when its anchor chain cable parted. The vessel was on ballast with 21 crew members on board.

A Coast Guard release said here on Tuesday that the Karwar Port Officer passed the information regarding the distress to the Coast Guard District Headquarters No. 3 at New Mangalore. Following this, the Coast Guard Regional Headquarters at Mumbai and District Headquarters No. 11 at Goa were alerted.

Two Coast Guard helicopters took off from Goa undertook rescue operation to airlift the crew. Despite the rough weather, the helicopters evacuated 16 crew members. The remaining four were recovered by the Naval helicopter, and one crew member died. Later, all the rescued crew members were taken to Goa.

Great stuff! :)Btw, there is a report today that oil is leaking from the sunken ship!

Righty said Kronik, but what can we do if some people are persistent to create trouble everywhere!!!

See the turn of events, the discussion was about monopoly of Ports and from Post No: 204 onwards the issue became whether the investment on a new deep water port is FDI or not and other silly things..


Nice refrain sudheeshnair... and let me add my take on the original topic as a fencesitter - monopoly of any player is bad. But this is too hot to handle at times, as this can happen in too many "innovative" ways. A cut n dry approach is not correct, rather an optimal arrangement needs to made.

Port seeks help to aid trade (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=186232)

Mumbai Port hit by delays, outdated infrastructure, to hire consultants

Rakshit Sonawane

Mumbai, June 4: Primitive infrastructure, growing competition from other ports and delayed projects have propelled the 132-year-old Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) to appoint consultants to upgrade its business plans over the next seven years.

‘‘We have received offers from 14 firms and the board of trustees is likely to take a decision in its next meeting scheduled two weeks later,’’ a senior MbPT official said, adding that the idea to appoint consultants was mooted by the Centre.

He said the consultants would be asked to set goals, formulate strategies, recommend a detailed plan of action and identify sources for financing the plan.

The source said though the port, which was in the red in 2001-02, has improved its business, it is far behind the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in handling containers. Larger ships can’t dock at the Mumbai port due to the old lock-gates, which ships use to enter the docks.

He said that except in containerised cargo, the port had shown improvement in handling other cargoes like motor vehicles (which went up by 49.31 per cent), petroleum products (up by 43.23 per cent) and iron and steel (up by 12.47 per cent).

Stating that there is no scope for upgrading the existing infrastructure, he said larger ships can’t dock at the port.

‘‘A large volume of container traffic is going through JNPT and we will also face competition from a new private port that is coming up at Rewas, just 10 nautical miles off Mumbai,’’ he said.

Subsequently, the Mumbai port has raised objection to the setting up of the Rewas port and demanded royalty from the new port for ships using Mumbai’s territorial waters, which is spread over 400 sq km.

Interestingly, the Rewas port project has gained momentum at a time when both the MbPT and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust are embarking on improving their respective draughts (depths) to accommodate larger vessels.

The Mumbai port has a maximum draught of 10.7 metres while the JNPT has a draught of 12 metres, which is being deepened to 14.5 m in next one year and finally to 16.5 m later.

The Rewas port on the other hand would open with a draught of 13 m, which would be deepened to 18 m.

Talking about project delays, he said: ‘‘Our plan to set up an Offshore Container Terminal with private participation has been delayed for the past six months as the Central government is yet to grant security clearance to one of the bidders—a Chinese firm.’’

The MbPT plans to use the Princes and Victoria Docks—these are used only by offshore supply vessels—to build a container terminal if the Offshore Container Terminal materialises.

Longest box vessel' calls at Tuticorin port

Our Correspondent

Madurai , June 9

Tuticorin port on Wednesday, earned the distinction of handling the biggest container vessel ever to call at any port in the South. The first vessel M.V. `NORASIA ATRIA', 265 m long, called at the port for unloading 254 TEUs and loading 391 TEUs. It has a capacity to carry 4,298 TEUs with 13 rows across the ship.

The port authorities have been taking various initiatives to enhance the volume of cargo and containers handled through the port that include various concessions/relaxations and facilities for deployment of mainline container vessels for direct shipment of containers to destinations without transhipment

Source: Business Line

Kochi charting course for Category A status

V. Sajeev Kumar - The Hindu Business Line

Taking into account the increasing container traffic handled and the Rs 2,118-crore international container transshipment terminal at Vallarpadam becoming a reality, the status of Kochi will be further enhanced, and it deserves to be upgraded.

Considering the ambitious development projects on the anvil in and around Cochin Port Trust, there has been an increasing demand from the shipping fraternity here to think of reclassifying the port to Category A from B.

The present classification is not thought to be justified, especially as the port has initiated many developmental projects under the National Maritime Development Programme involving huge investments.

Major portsare classified in two groups. Kandla, JNPT, Mumbai, Chennai, Vizag and Kolkata come under Category A while New Mangalore, Tuticorin, Kochi, Paradip and Goa are classified B. This classification was made in 1997. Before that there were three categories of major ports.

Basis of classification

The classification of major ports was made based on the recommendations of a committee. Mr C. S. Kartha, a former Trustee of the Cochin Port Trust, said no rationale or criterion appear to have been relied upon to categorise ports at a lower level. Nor is there any study to establish that senior officers in the Category A ports shoulder higher responsibilities.

On the contrary, many Category B ports are said to face more challenges and their officials carry more responsibilities.

In Kochi, Mr Kartha pointed out, the level of responsibilities and challenges of senior officers is no less than that of any of their Category A port counterparts. The last meeting of the Board of Trustees had passed a resolution in this regard and entrusted the Chairman to take up the matter with the Shipping Ministry, he said.

Mr Sebastian Paul, MP, has taken up the issue with the Shipping Minister requesting him to take positive steps for upgrading Kochi to Category A, considering its strategic location on the international maritime route and its mounting volume of business.

New status

As the Rs 2,118-crore international container transhipment terminal at Vallarpadam is becoming a reality, the status of Kochi as a major port will further enhance. Taking into account the contours of the fast changing scenario, Mr Paul urged the Minister to take an early and favourable decision in this regard.

According to a highly placed source in the port, the classification of ports was done based on the traffic handled. However, the situation has changed now, with the port handling more containerised than bulk cargo.

Kochi, which is the first major port to start container movement, has attained prominence in container handling and deserved to be in Category A, he said.

Though the traffic handled by Kochi is lower compared to Category A ports, it is far morein value on account of the high-value containers comprising marine products, spices, cashew, etc., handled. Considering all this and the Rs 10,000-crore integrated development plan to be taken up, the port deserved to be in Category A, he said.

Mr Suresh Joseph, General Manager, India Gateway Terminal, said that a reclassification would signify the importance of the port in the maritime development of the country.

More autonomy

The reclassification would bring with it greater operational and financial responsibilities and autonomy for the port administration. Coupled with the better investment climate and worker attitude, the port can become the model for port development in the country.

And with this, Mr Joseph said, would come an opportunity for job creation and business expansion. However, in the context of globalisation and the customer's quest for `value for money', it must not be forgotten that productivity and cost of service will be the defining parameters of any infrastructure or service.

Cochin Shipyard posts record performance

V. Sajeev Kumar

The yard has started off the financial year 2006-07 in the right note by securing four more export orders in shipbuilding, senior officials at the CSL said.

Kochi , June 14

The public sector Cochin Shipyard Ltd has achieved an all-time-high performance in ship building for the year 2005-06, as it recorded a production crossing 1,00,000 dwt this year.

The yard had registered a record production of 1,01,663 dwt in 2005-06 as compared with 62,517 dwt in the previous year. The shipyard had achieved a provisional net profit of Rs 18 crore (Rs 12.10 crore). The net worth stood at Rs 284.85 crore (Rs 266.62 crore).

The yard has started off the financial year 2006-07 in the right note by securing four more export orders in shipbuilding, senior officials at the CSL said.

The company signed a contract with a Norwegian company for construction of four UT 755 L N type Platform Supply Vessels, with option for additional four vessels.

The contracts were signed in May this year in Oslo, Norway. The ships are to be delivered within 30 months, the officials added.

Apart from this, CSL's present order book consists of five bulk carriers for Clipper, Bahamas, eight Passenger Supply Vessels for a Norwegian Company and the Air Defence Ship for the Indian Navy.
News in The Business Line (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/15/stories/2006061502100700.htm)

Nice to see CSL doing so well. :)

SCI draws up Rs14,000cr vessel buy plan (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=11&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=2009)

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has drawn up a mega vessel acquisition plan till 2011-12 involving an investment of around Rs 14,000 crore.

"We have planned to acquire over 70 new vessels at a cost of about Rs 14,000 crore during the entire 11th Plan period till 2012," S Hajara, chairman & managing director of SCI, said on the sidelines of a conference on India's energy security.

"The aquisition plan includes buying all kinds of vessels like oil tankers, container carriers and offshore vessels," he said.

At present, SCI has 82 vessels and a market share of 35%, but during the 11th Plan many present vessels would be phased out having crosssed seaworthiness.

"I cannot tell at present that how many existing vessels would be phased out by 2012. Despite that overall cargo handling capacity will move up by 8 million dead weight tonnage (dwt) from the present 15 dwt," Hajara said.

India to build port on Myanmar coast to connect Northeast (http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=303481&sid=NAT)

India has decided to build a port at Settwe on the Myanmar coast to give connectivity to the Northeastern state of Mizoram, Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said today.

India, he said, would invest 103 million dollars to develop the port which would be an alternative route to the North Eastern region. It would provide direct link to Myanmar and Visakhapatnam through the Kaladan river. The project would be implemented by rites and was expected to be completed in three years' time.

Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran was now in Yangon to discuss the matter, he said.

.
Gujarat may sell Dahej port to IPCL (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1669487.cms)

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government is planning to sell its entire 58% stake, held through state PSUs and investment arms, in Gujarat Chemicals Port and Terminals (GCPTCL), paving the way for the Mukesh Ambani-controlled IPCL to take complete control of India’s first specialised chemicals port at Dahej.

IPCL, a Reliance Industries group company, holds the balance 42% stake in the port, and has the first right of refusal in case the government entities want to sell out.

The government’s 58% shareholding in the port company’s share capital of Rs 288 crore, is distributed among the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), Gujarat Industrial Development, Gujarat Industrial Investment and three state PSUs namely, Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals (GSFC), Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers (GNFC) and Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals (GACL).

“We have taken an in-principle decision to exit if we get a good price for our stake,” a senior government official told ET. The government is of the view that its original interest in the port was only to promote it, and not to run it in the long-run.

Cheers

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RIL plans deep sea port at Haldia (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1672743.cms)

Kolkatta: Nuggets of information are starting to trickle in on Reliance Industry’s Haldia-related proposals discussed at chairman Mukesh Ambani’s near two-hour meeting with West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on June 21.

RIL will undertake an independent feasibility study for setting up a deep sea port near Haldia. A high-level RIL team will arrive in Haldia to do a spot assessment and zero in on the precise location. The feasibility report may be submitted in the next 45-60 days, sources told ET.

Project details remain under wraps, but it’s learnt that the proposed deep sea port may be along the lines of RIL’s existing deep-draft facility off the Jamnagar coast. Setting up of a deep sea port venture is at the heart of RIL’s strategic expansion plans, which also includes development of a port-based, multi-purpose SEZ in Haldia.

The SEZ is likely to include the proposed chemical hub where Reliance is tipped to be anchor investor. The West Bengal CM and state industry minister Nirupam Sen are likely to visit Jamnagar to get a feel of RIL’s existing facility off the Jamnagar coast.

Cheers

Old news ...Update

Ports to invest Rs 10,260 cr in five yrs

Containerisation seems to be the order of the day. At a time when more cargos are being moved in boxes, major ports are gearing up to invest a whopping Rs 10,260 crore to set up container terminals in five years. This is in addition to container terminals being set up at non-major ports run by private players.

“Out of eight container terminals, the third container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) will be operational shortly with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, while the work on the International Transhipment Container Terminal at Vallarpadam (Kochi) has started. The Kochi project would cost Rs 2,220 crore,” a senior government official said.

Authorities of the JNPT, Tuticorin and Ennore ports will invite expression of interest (EoI) for construction of terminals shortly.

The combined investment for these are pegged at Rs 5,150 crore. Bids have been put in for construction of Chennai and Mumbai ports, while the work for Kandla port terminal has just started.

The third container terminal at JNPT is developed by a consortium of Danish shipping giant Maersk Sealand and rail PSU Container Corporation of India (Concor). The transhipment terminal at Kochi Port is developed by Dubai Ports World.

JNPT, which handles over 58 per cent of India’s container traffic, is also developing fourth container terminal with quay (berth) length of two kms. The port is in the process of appointing a consultant to this Rs 4,000 crore project, said a senior JNPT official.

According to government statistics, the compounded annual rate of growth for the overall projected container twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) is estimated at 18.31 per cent for all the ports.

“For containerised cargo, the maximum capacity requirement at ports are likely to go up from the existing 50 million tonne to 186 million tonne (15.20 TEUs) by 2013-14,” industry analysts said.

Major ports are likely to handle seven million TEUs against 3.9 million TEUs in 2003-04.

Meanwhile, the level of containerisation is growing over 75 per cent as the handling cost is lower for containerised cargo against break bulk items. The main containerised cargos are garments, electronic goods, agro products, machinery parts, leather and jute products.

Ports are witnessing many hitherto break bulk cargos such as rice, maize, glass, granite, garmet sand, soya, cement, banana, cotton, green coffee beans and flowers are now moving in containers, industrial analysts pointed out.

“The proposed investment will be channelised through private sector participation with suitable safeguards to ensure that the facilities are operated as public utility ones. All projects will be on build operate and transfer (BOT) basis,” a government official said.

Meanwhile, the government is also initiating channel deepening process to facilitate the berth construction and operations, so as to equip them to receive bigger vessels.

The various channel dredging projects under consideration are at JNPT (Rs 800 crore), Paradip Port (Rs 154 crore), Kochi Port (Rs 379 crore) and Kandla Port (Rs 87 crore). River regulatory measures for improvement of shipping channel in Hooghly Estuary of Kolkata Port (Rs 385 crore) is also under consideration.

http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu1&subLeft=1&autono=97442&tab=r

not enough at all over a 5 year period of time. at least 15000 crores required.

SCI to spend Rs 16,000 cr on 70 new vessels (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=133953)

To beef up operations on key routes, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) will buy 70 vessels by 2012 at a cost of Rs 16,000 crore. Of these, four would be for its US and Europe operations, SCI director SS Rangnekar said on Thursday.

Of the four, two are 4003 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) ships, to be delivered by the end of 2006 and the remaining two—5000 TEUs —will be delivered by July 2007.

Detailing the fleet acquisition plan, Rangnekar said, “We will be buying 30-35 ships in 2-3 years at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore.” SCI has also submitted an expression of interest in a consortium for a fourth container terminal at JNPT in Mumbai.

Vallarpadam project to be completed on time (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/07/18/stories/2006071802340700.htm)

Kochi , July 17

The Union Shipping Minister, Mr T.R. Baalu, has stated that the environmental clearance for the Rs 2,118-crore Vallarpadam Container Transhipment Terminal project has been obtained last week and the project would be completed on time.

The Minister, who was here to dedicate the 300-tonne gantry crane at Cochin Shipyard Ltd, said that there were no more roadblocks for the project and the Government had given sanction for the proposed road connecting the terminal area with the National Highway. The Department of Environment has given the final permission for the road, which was the only hindrance to starting the construction, he said.

Shipbuilding, repair hubs

Referring to the two shipbuilding and repair hubs planned by the Ministry on the East and West coast, the Minister said that Ennore and Mumbai Port Trusts had been made the nodal agencies for locating the spots. These agencies would call for expression of interest soon from various players for setting up these yards. Even Cochin Shipyard could bid for setting up the facility, he said, adding that competing among themselves would make the Indian shipyards better and more efficient.

The ports sector envisaged an investment to the tune of Rs 55,000 crore in 276 projects by 2011-12. In the shipbuilding and repair sector, the Government envisaged an investment to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore by 2025 in 111 projects.

Development projects


Under the National Maritime Development Programme, the port has initiated ambitious developmental projects such as container transhipment terminal, port based SEZ, LNG re-gasification project, bunkering terminal, rail and National Highway connectivity to Vallarpadam, ship repair facility, SBM project, cruise terminal etc.

ICTT project at Vallarpadam has been progressing as per schedule and the India Gateway Terminal has already conducted soil inspection, test piling and studies on shipping moorings at the site. It is expected that IGT will finalise the drawings and designs in consultation with the port before October. The construction of the terminal is expected to be commenced by January 2007 and to be completed by January 2009.

Chinese cos to be kept away from port projects

Subodh Ghildiyal | TNN

New Delhi: With an all-round warning that the presence of companies with Chinese links for the development of ports will seriously compromise India’s maritime security, the Centre is likely to disallow Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) from bidding for projects in the Mumbai and Chennai ports, as well as a Chinese company-led consortium in Kerala.
HPH had bid for BOT projects for an offshore container terminal in Mumbai port and a second container terminal in Chennai. A consortium of Chinese companies—Kaidi Electric Power Company and China Harbour Engineering Company—had expressed its desire for the deepwater international container trans-shipment terminal near Thiruvananthapuram.
It was an unanimous thumbs down for the Chinese bidders as the IB, RAW and the defence ministry said this would allow China an entry into the Indian Ocean and could have serious consequences for national security.
Mumbai port, with the Western Naval Command’s presence, was seen as extremely sensitive in the face of doubts harboured by the intelligence agencies about the credentials of HPH.
Sources said HPH was found to be a part of Cheung Kong Holdings. It was also alleged that a few executives had links with the Chinese leadership and the PLA and were even involved in the illegal transfer of missile technology to the PLA.
Enlisting the company for the development of Mumbai port would give it an operational base in the port area and allow it to be in a commanding position to collect information about strategic installations and movements.
The intelligence agencies unanimously warned that letting Chinese firms into Indian ports would mean playing into the hands of a superpower which has long been seeking an entry into the maritime sphere.

Chinese firm built port in Pakistan

New Delhi: China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which teamed up with Kaidi Electric Power Company (KEPC) and bid for the deepwater international container trans-shipment terminal in Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram, was reportedly involved in building a strategic port, the Gwadar Deep Sea Port, in Pakistan.
The fear in the government circles is that given Pakistan’s proximity to China, Gwadar could be at China’s disposal in times of need.
This, sources said, was being viewed in conjunction with the similar involvement of Chinese companies around the sub-continent, with an interest shown in Chittagong in Bangladesh and ports in Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
The conclusive view not to award the port contracts to Chinese firms came after months of dilly-dallying on the bids made for these important port development projects. While security agencies had been airing their concerns for some time, the failure by government to take a decision had led to the belief that it could still weigh in favour of the move given commercial and infrastructural needs and the general view that intelligence agencies often overstated fears regarding Chinese companies.

RIL to develop Rs 3,500 cr port in Navi Mumbai (http://business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=BO&autono=99175&chkFlg=)

After committing Rs 25,000 crore for its special economic zone (SEZ), the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries is planning to develop a multi-purpose port for handling the cargo generated from the proposed SEZ. The company is scouting for a suitable deep-draught location to set up a greenfield facility.

Sources said the multi-purpose port would be developed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), in partnership with an Indian or international port operator.

The investment for this greenfield port is estimated at Rs 3,500 crore. The port will be equipped to handle cargoes such as bulk, break bulk, liquid, and containers.

The sources said the company was considering suitable locations at Uran and Pen.

The company has already submitted, through its subsidiary Reliance Logistics, an expression of interest (EoI) for the Rs 5,000-crore fourth container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Navi Mumbai.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is studying the prospects of constructing an international airport in Navi Mumbai, close to the company�s proposed SEZ.

�With accessibility to JNPT, having its own port, and proximity to an airport and numerous container freight stations, Reliance Industries� proposition is a profitable one,� industry analysts said.

we need at least 2 more companies from other parts of the country that can dream like Reliance and work towards making them real.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/19/stories/2006061900130600.htm
Progress at Gangavaram

The row that erupted in recent months over the construction of the Gangavaram port, and the consequent displacement (and rehabilitation) of fishermen, has subsided and peace is returning to the fishing village of Gangavaram.

The fishermen have agreed to the revised rehabilitation package announced by the Government and the stage is set for shifting the boats to Yarada. They have given up the demand for construction of a jetty in the vicinity of the village at Nallamarammapatalu.

Construction work at the port site is progressing at a brisk pace. The first phase of the project may be ready by December 2007, as scheduled, and there may not be further delay, as apprehended initially.

In fact, though a few days were lost, there was not much disruption of work and even the prolonged dry spell in June helped the cause.

Logistical advantage: Now that the dust has settled and there are no hurdles to the port project, it is hoped that the project will be completed as per schedule.

There is no doubt that the Gangavaram port, situated close to the Visakhapatnam Steel plant, will be of logistical advantage to the plant and other industries coming up in the region.

The steel plant, in particular, will be benefited, as the port, with a depth of 21 metres, will facilitate the berthing of larger vessels, resulting in considerable freight reduction.

The master plan for the port envisages the construction of 29 berths, with a cargo handling capacity of 200 million tonnes, and the "cargo-handling will be fully mechanised in conformity with the best international standards,'' claim the port officials.

The consortium, headed by Mr D. V. S. Raju, is constructing the port, with Integrax Berhad (Malaysia) as the technical partner. Earlier, the Dubai Port International was providing technical assistance for the project.

the patience of politicians in power has paid off. YSR wasn't stupid enough to intervene and act like a big brother. he stayed off of it and let local politicians handle it. and the strategy has worked. slowly, work is back and hopefully with no more hurdles.

Kerala State to Setup two international size shipyards!

NEW DELHI: Kerala has proposed setting up of two international size shipyards in the State, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

``A memorandum submitted by the Government of Kerala includes a request for sanctioning a proposal forwarded for setting up of two international size shipyards, one at Poovar, near Vizinjham, and the other at Mattool,'' Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T. R. Baalu said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

He said there was a proposal under the National Maritime Development Programme for setting up two international size shipyards, one on the East Coast and the other on the West Coast.


Source http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/28/stories/2006072809640400.htm

Expanding port capacities (http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=135747)

A massive 59 mt capacity addition in the 13 major ports last year— more than double the capacity addition in any of the previous three years —has pushed up total capacity to 456 mt, just a little short of the targets for the next year. And it is not just a blip, as trends indicate that the capacity expansions have more than matched the buoyant external trade volumes. Though the additions have helped increase the overall unutilised capacity at the major ports to 7%, there is still serious mismatch between demand and supply at some of the larger ports. Five of the major ports—Mormugao, JNPT, Vizag, Mumbai and Haldia—continue to operate above full capacity, and Kandla and Chennai ports also run close to full capacity. In contrast, Paradip, with the largest capacity addition of 12.4 mt last year, has been only able to utilise two-thirds of its potential. Idle capacity at Kochi and Ennore ports are more than a quarter.

The congested ports have pulled down the overall performance indicators. Average pre-berthing time has almost doubled in the past three years, to close to 10 days. At Mormugao, Kandla and Haldia, the waiting time runs up to 30 days. In contrast, pre-berthing time at Kolkota, Chennai and Ennore ports were less than a day. Though deterioration in the average turnaround time was only marginal, it still averaged 3.5 days, double that of much larger ports like Hong Kong. The worst affected were Kandla, Mormugao, Mumbai, Kolkata, Vizag and Haldia, with turnaround time exceeding four days. The lowest was at JNPT, at less than half these levels.

There are also problems related to low cost efficiency that plague Indian ports. The ratio of freight payments to trade value is double that in developed countries. This is a major constraint for our exporters, who are also handicapped by an excessive large lead time of 22 days, compared to seven days in China and just three in Korea.

Regulatory issues also remain unresolved. And, the port authority is both a regulator and an operator with commercial responsibilities. Efforts to bestow a corporate structure and help the ports retain greater autonomy have been slow, with only one port having been corporatised. Reforms in the sector have to be continued with greater vigour.

An insightful article by a top security expert, Rear Admiral Raja Menon:

The Chinese in Vizhinjam

RAJA MENON
Posted online: Thursday, August 10, 2006 at 0000 hours IST


The companies that bid for the Rs 4,360 crore Vizhinjam port are among the best in the business, for this site almost selects itself. The 100-metre depth contour off the West Coast is 30 miles outside Bombay, but only six miles off Vizhin-jam, or Tuticorin, and four miles off Visakhapatnam. But the huge container traffic highway that cuts across the Indian Ocean, and which Colombo has as-tutely tapped into, flows just 24 miles southwest of Vizhinjam and fully 900 miles south of Visakhapatnam.

Kochi is out of the picture, with serious silting and endemic labour problems. So, the world class container terminal that acts like a container exchange that India wants to develop, has clearly to be as far down the tip of the Indian peninsula, as possible. So Vizhinjam is a winner.

That one of the cheapest bids to build it has come from a Chinese consortium is hardly surprising. Fourteen of the top 20 container terminals are in Asia and China owns seven of these. The most dynamic port consultancy in the world today are Chinese joint ventures teamed with world ports such as Singapore and Hamburg. The world's annual port and ship-building expo takes place annually in China and the world's fastest growing container port terminals are in China. So, why the government expected that anybody other than China would win this tender must remain a mystery.

Let's take the national security rationale for rejecting the Chinese bid. China is India's fastest growing trade partner and may overtake the US by 2015. But China, it is true, has played the most deceitful and duplicitous role in arming Pakistan with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles over a quarter century. Most likely, this horrendous collaboration probably continues even today. So,clearly, China conducts its foreign policy on two separate tracks. Trade with India, while tying it down south of the Himalayas, using a willing Islamabad as its pawn.

What can India do about it? Turning down the cheapest Chinese bid for a hydro-electric power station in the Himalayas or rejecting the Chinese offer for Vizhinjam are not the answers. It's like fielding a football team for a cricket match. Delhi may have forgotten, but the naval base at Visakhapatnam was designed in Moscow and built by the Yugoslavs and the Dutch. Strategic ports and commercial ports are two different things. In a strategic port, the builder is invited to stay, as the Chinese probably would in Gwadar, by Pakistan. If the Chinese built Vizhinjam, they disappear in five years, leaving behind as much trace as the fishing nets in Kochi. The authority for a security override to development projects must be given to just a select few.

—The writer, a former rear admiral, is a security analyst

Source: The Financial Express

Discussing the subject when GoK has decided to retender the project is like crying over spilt milk, but it is worth debating since this certainly won't be the last time this happens...politics overriding economics and common sense! :bash:

Decks cleared for offshore container terminal (http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=197490)

Approval comes after Centre rejects security clearance to Chinese firm in fray along with 11 others; bids for project will be opened after Aug 31

Rakshit Sonawane

Mumbai, August 19: The long-awaited Offshore Container Terminal (OCT) project at the Mumbai Port will finally start on August 31 as the Centre, after nine months of deliberations, has decided to reject the security clearance to Chinese firm Hutchinson Port Holdings (HPH).

‘‘We received a directive from the Shipping Ministry on Friday to go ahead without HPH,’’ a senior Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) port official said.

The Rs 1,200-crore project had been initiated about 18 months ago and 11 firms were shortlisted. However, since November last year, the deadline for submission of bids was being extended every month after the Defence and Home ministries raised objections that allowing the firm to work on the project would pose a security risk to the Naval installations near it. The last extension was up to August 31.

According to the official, HPH was to be the management contractor for Larsen and Toubro (LT), one of the 11 shortlisted firms, for the project, but considering the delays, LT had volunteered in June to appoint International Container Terminal Services Inc, a Manila-based firm in place of HPH.

‘‘We have already informed the Shipping Ministry about it and now the final deadline is August 31. We would evaluate the technical and financial bids and the project would get underway,’’ he said.

The MbPT had shortlisted 11 firms for the OCT: Mitsui OSK Line; P & O Ports; United Liner Agencies; Gammon India; Gammon Infrastructures, Italy; Larsen & Toubro; ABG Heavy Industries and IL&FS; DP World; Evergreen Marine; Adani Exports; and AP Moller Finances. HPH was to be the management contractor for LT.

The MbPT will execute the OCT through private participation. In the first phase, Rs 300 crore will be spent on deepening the navigation channel and creating infrastructure, including a rail link. There will be two berths of 350 metres length each to accommodate large container vessels, which are unable to call on the Mumbai port because of its inadequate draught (depth) and narrow lockgate (the entrance to the dock basin).

Incidentally, the MbPT is facing tough competition in the harbour and is handicapped with its old infrastructure like the narrow lockgate and inadequate draught in the dock basin. The 132-year-old port has a maximum draught of 10.7 metres while the Jawaharlal Nehru Port has a draught of 12 metres, which is being deepened to 14.5 m in one year (at a cost of Rs 700 crore).

A new private port coming up at Rewas (about 10 nautical miles south of Mumbai) is to open with a draught of 13 m, which will be deepened to 18 m.

Rewas no cakewalk for RIL

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: India’s largest private sector company, Reliance Industries, is close to acquiring a stake in Rewas Port. The acquisition is expected to help RIL facilitate trade in two SEZs it is building. These SEZs are spread across 35,000 acres in Navi Mumbai.
The deal, likely to be sealed late next week, will involve Meka Vijay Papa Rao, promoter of Rewas, offloading a part of his 100% stake in favour of RIL. Rao had set up the Rewas Port Development Company (RPDC) with equal participation from IL&FS a few years ago to carry out construction activity at the port. Last month, he bought out IL&FS’ stake for Rs 50 crore. Next week, Rao is likely to sign on the dotted line that will specify how much he will offload in favour of RIL.
Maharashtra Maritime Board has the option to pick up an 11% stake in Rewas Port. MMB may exercise this option (only after getting final environment clearance) by either paying cash upfront or land.
The construction of phase I of the port hinges on getting environmental clearances from the central government. The state government on its part has given an in-principle clearance. Papa Rao said he is confident of starting construction by October. He refused to elaborate further.
The environmental clearance aside, it will also have to work at getting Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) to agree to share its territorial waters. Last year, Mumbai Port had objected to cutting down its territorial water limits in favour of Rewas. It had then proposed a revenue sharing model in return. Under the terms, MbPT wanted 10% of Rewas’ revenues or Rs 10 crore, whichever is higher. But the proposal was shot down by Rewas Port.
Located about 10 nautical miles south-east of Mumbai harbour, phase I of Rewas Port will cost Rs 2,500 crore and can be scaled up to Rs 5,000 crore. Interestingly, Rewas Port and RIL’s SEZs have some over-lapping areas, thanks to a goof-up by the state government. If the valuation terms and agreements are sealed next week, the RIL-Rewas Port deal will sail through.

Chennai port project to go to Singapore

China's loss is Singapore's gain. With security concerns blocking the way for Chinese major Hutchison Ports Holdings (HPH), the Rs 500-crore second container terminal at Chennai Port Trust is all set to go to the Singapore government's port operator Port of Singapore Authority (PSA).

According to sources, PSA, which has bid with Chennai-based SICAL Logistics, has quoted the highest revenue share of over 45 per cent to bag the project that has already been delayed by two years.

PSA-SICAL's revenue sharing quote is the second highest for Indian port projects. The highest was 48.99 per cent by ABG Heavy Industries for the Kandla Port container terminal. PSA-SICAL has pipped the consortium led by Emirates Shipping Lines with Gammon India.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro's bid was rejected as its management contractor Hutchison failed to secure security clearance from the government. The bidding deadline for the project was extended over a dozen times due to delay in security clearance for Hutchison.

Singapore already has a presence in India at the Tuticorin Port's container terminal.

At present, Dubai Port's Chennai Container Terminal is the only private container terminal at Chennai Port Trust. PSA is the world's busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage handled, with 1.15 billion gross tonne handled in 2005.http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=103655&leftnm=1&subLeft=0&chkFlg=

SCI to invest Rs 15,000 cr in new ships in 5 years (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/10/05/stories/2006100503270900.htm)

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has drawn up a five-year fleet expansion programme, involving a capital expenditure of Rs 15,000 crore for acquisition of 70 ships. This will include replacement of some of its older vessels, as well as tonnage accretion.

The proposed acquisitions include VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers) and container vessels. In fact, the company has already placed an order for two VLCCs with a Korean yard for $258, which would be delivered by the third quarter of 2008 and 2009.

In the current fiscal, the company has lined up an acquisition plan for 35 vessels, requiring an investment of about Rs 6,350 crore, in addition to the ships already on order.

Even though funding does not pose a problem, SCI, being a Government-owned company, does face constraints in the form of delayed decision-making process. With asset prices ruling high, including in the second-hand and resale markets, any delay in buying decisions could upset negotiations between the sellers of the ship and SCI.

It is in the light of this that SCI is seeking `navaratna' status, which would give its board complete autonomy to take decisions related to ship acquisition.

The Shipping Ministry has also thrown its weight behind SCI's plea, recommending to the Department of Public Enterprises that the company's status be upgraded.

Faster decision-making has become all the more necessary now for SCI as it has decided to look for resale contracts (in which ship owners resale the contracted ship even before it is constructed) and second-hand vessels. The company has begun to scout the Chinese shipbuilding market for a suitable resale contract, having recently sent a delegation to China to inspect the shipyards there.

India plans transhipment port at Great Nicobar

PORT BLAIR (Reuters) - India has shortlisted 10 firms to study the feasibility for a transhipment port in the Great Nicobar Island that will help cut down time and distance for cargo traffic headed for ports on the mainland, an official said.

Such a port would obviate the need for ships to unload at Sri Lanka's Colombo port for onward shipment and offer an alternative on Indian territory itself, Chief Engineer K. Shekar at Andaman Lakshadweep Harbour Works (ALHW) told Reuters.

It would also contribute to the rebuilding of the Andaman Archipelago hit by the Dec. 2004 tsunami, he said.

"Once it is finalised, the selected firm will conduct a techno-economic feasibility study, which is estimated to take one year," Shekar said. ALHW is the supervising authority for the project.

http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/news.asp?id=271812

L&T pens blueprint for Rs 2,000-cr AP facility (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2153926.cms)

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is close to finalising Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh as the location for its Rs 2,000-crore shipyard and a fabrication facility to support its existing engineering projects.

The company has submitted investment details to central and state governments, said sources. L&T is likely to announce the location before December and the project will be wrapped up by ’10. The company had earlier zoomed in on three sites, but Kakinada on the east coast is now being preferred, sources in the know said.

As the company is looking for building fabrication facility, it needs over 400 acres of land for the project. L&T plans to build liquefied natural gas and oil carriers, survey ships, offshore and multi-support vessels weighing as much as 25,000 tonnes at this shipyard,” said industry sources.

L&T already owns a shipyard at Hazira near Surat. But it’s not equipped with deep-water facilities for constructing large craft. Here, the company is setting up a facility for building commercial vessels and warships for the Navy as well as the Coast Guard. The first vessel would set sail from this shipyard in ’08.

Meanwhile, the government is planning to build two international shipyards on the west and east coasts. Ennore and Mumbai ports have been selected as the nodal agencies in executing the projects.

Kolkata Port drafts third port plan (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=262157&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is now looking for a third port facility near Sagar Island, which would have a deeper draft than Haldia port.

The chairman of KoPT, A K Chandra, told reporters here that the port was examining the feasibility of the facility for some time and that nothing had been firmed up as yet.

He also indicated that if the state government finally decided to back the building of a deep sea port near Sagar, then KoPT might merge its project with that plan.

Chanda claimed KoPT was planning a joint venture with Central Inland Water Transport Corporation (CIWTC) for development of inland water transport (IWT).

"A high level team of CIWTC will come later this week to discuss the issue with KoPT," he said.

Chandra pointed out that river transport channels were being neglected and hardly used.

"Banaras and Patna used to be big riverine ports, but as the Ganges moved southwards, these ports became inactive. But we should have continued using these riverine ports because the draft needed for inland water transport is not very high. In fact, we should have used Brahmaputra river channel too," he said.

According to Chandra, Kolkata and Haldia port could be two terminals for any future inland water transport system.

The KoPT chairman also pointed out that the main problem in inland transport was lack of handling facilities in riverine ports.

"We have to discuss the issue of how to develop good riverine port infrastructure here for inland transport mechanism," he added.

Chanda said KoPT was looking for a formal written offer from the Pawan Ruia group for its proposed ship building project in Jellingham near Haldia.

The Ruia group has already initiated discussion with the state government for the project.

Ruia had earlier identified close to 1,500 acre land in Jellingham now held by the central government company Burn Standard Ltd for the project.

India is port of call for global shipping lines

Foreign shipping lines are cashing in on the boom in the Indian container market. All global container carriers are either starting new services or enhancing their services connecting India, China and the Far East.

Going by preliminary estimates, foreign shipping lines are expected to start at least 10 new container services by the end of the year. The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is also in the process of tying up with overseas partners.

Sources said Gateway Terminals India, the third container terminal at JN Port, operated by Container Corporation of India and Danish shipping line Maersk, has received over 40 applications from overseas shipping companies for berths.

“With the availability of cheap labour and value-added services, India and China are becoming hubs for semi-manufactured and manufactured goods. This has led to a huge increase in container shipping services,” said SCI Director Sudhir S Rangnekar.

However, Indian container companies are not part of the scramble. “Container shipping services operate on wafer-thin margins. Container ships cost around $60-70 million. You need to have a strong international marketing network, along with an expensive infotech backbone, to operate a box shipping service,” said Rangnekar.

SCI has joined Dubai-based Emirates Shipping Line (ESL) and Taiwan’s TS Line to launch Hyper Galex, a service connecting China, South East Asia, India, and West Asia. Hyper Galex will be served by six vessels of 3,100 twenty-foot equivalent units. ESL will provide four vessels, while SCI and TS Line will provide one each for the service, which starts on November 11.

“Hyper Galex will provide comprehensive container shipping links involving three of the world’s fastest growing economic regions. With this in mind, we have focused on providing a very wide port coverage to our customers,” said Vikas Khan, chairman and CEO of Emirates Shipping Line. The service will call on Kochi, JN Port, and Mundra.

SCI, along with Israeli company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, had started an India-US East Coast weekly service in May. Japanese carrier Mitsui OSK Lines launched China-Singapore Service Loop 1 on October 19, connecting Chennai Port and JN Port to Shanghai and Singapore.

Mitsui OSK Lines and Singapore-based Sea Consortium have also started a new container service, Singapore Chennai Express (SMX), linking Chennai and ports in the Singapore straits.

October saw the launch of another service, PIX or Pakistan India Express, by Thai company Regional Container Lines, German Hapag-Lloyd, and TSK Line, a unit of Japanese line NYK

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=262677&leftnm=3&subLeft=0&chkFlg=

^^ - Good news there! Now, what we need is a set of world-class, deep water port. Mundra has started it off. Hope, with Vizhinjam, Kakinada and others, India will be truely upto speed in terms of handling larger vessels. With the expansion of the Suez and Panama Canals, the ship sizes are bound to keep increasing.

Btw folks, there is a programme on JNPT on Discovery sometime this week. Don't miss it. :)

Source: The Hindu (http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/25/stories/2006102510090100.htm)

Roads & Buildings Minister J. Rammohan Rao later told reporters that a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been sent to the AAI on developing Rajahmundry and Vijayawada airports and additional land allotted for them. The meeting also considered proposals to develop small airports at Tadepalligudem, Nellore and Kadapa. Night landing facility would be made available at Tirupati airport soon[/COLOR].[/B]

The Minister said work was in full swing on the Rs. 1,800-crore Gangavaram Port near Visakhapatnam being set up as world class multi-purpose facility to handle ships of up to 2,30,000 DWT capacity

Subhash group to build Puducherry port

Subhash Projects and Marketing Ltd, a Bangalore-based leading engineering, construction and project management group, has bagged a Rs.21-billion order to develop Puducherry port in collaboration with Delhi-based Om Metals Infraprojects Ltd.

According to a company statement here Friday, the project envisages converting the present shallow port on the Puducherry coast into a deepwater port to handle large ships carrying general, bulk and liquid cargo.

'We have floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) -- Pondicherry Port Ltd -- as a 50:50 joint venture with Om Metals to execute the ambitious project in four phases. When completed by 2014, it will have three container berths for general, bulk and liquid cargo and a cruise terminal, providing employment to about 10,000 people,' Subhash group chairman Anil Sethi said.

Located strategically between Chennai and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, the Puducherry port will boost trade and travel from the east coast. When the proposed Sethusamudram canal through the Palk Strait becomes operational, the distance between the west coast, Middle East and Europe will not only reduce by 780km, but also bring down passage time by nearly 30 hours

Currently, it takes about 30 hours to load one ship with 2,000 tonnes of cargo using three barges. Loading and unloading of large ships is being carried out by anchoring them a few kilometres offshore and using barges, which ply between boats and quay. On completion, large ships will be berthed at the port itself

http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20061103/27414.htm

SCI to ink contract with Korean shipbuilding firm (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=263801&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

National flag carrier Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is planning to place $502.90 million contract with Korean shipbuilding yards.

Out of this, SCI has already signed contracts with South Korean yard STX Shipbuilding Co for building six new Long Range-I size product tankers for $371 million.

This is the largest shipbuilding contract in terms of value, signed by SCI since its inception. This is also the largest contract ever signed by STX Shipyard.

The last mega acquisition deal was of $258.2 million for acquiring two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).

“Shipping Corporation is likely to place orders with Korean shipbuilding yard Hyudai Heavy Industries for two container vessels of about 4,300 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) capacity each at a price of $65.95 million per vessel,” Umesh Grover, director, SCI, said.

“The contract for container vessels is expected to be signed within two weeks. The vessels will be delivered by the end of 2008. These vessels will be deployed on SCI’s India-UK service,” Grover added.

Grover also said that SCI is planning to conclude acquisitions of more tanker vessels by the next quarter and the corporation is also exploring opportunities at shipyards other than Korea.

The six tankers, ordered at STX, would join SCI’s fleet from first half of 2010. The product tankers would have a design deadweight of about 60,000 tonne at the design draft of 12.50 metre.

The tankers would be built to the latest and most stringent international regulations and would be classed with the LR and IRS Classification Societies.

The SCI’s present fleet stands at 80 vessels aggregating about 2.75 million gross tonne (GT) comprising cellular container vessels, crude oil tankers (including combination carrier), product tankers, bulk carriers, LPG/Ammonia carriers, acid carriers, passenger vessels and offshore supply vessels.

i have a question: does SCI build it's own ships? if yes, how many has it built yet? and what about the prospects of private indian players in this area like L&T, which recently stated it was gonna start constructing a ship building plant at Kakinada, AP.

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i have a question: does SCI build it's own ships? if yes, how many has it built yet? and what about the prospects of private indian players in this area like L&T, which recently stated it was gonna start constructing a ship building plant at Kakinada, AP.

No Sir. Just like Air India and nearly all the Air Lines of the World buy Air Crafts built by Aircraft Builders similarly SCI and other Shipping Companies World-Wide (With the exception of Conglomerates having both Shipping and Ship Building companies – Japanese and South Koreans come to mind) buy Ships built by Ship Building Yards.

Cheers