India: Seaports and Shipping

[nik]

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

Ack: DPW website













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

[Ajaypp]

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.

[pding]

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.

[nik]

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



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.

[Anniyan]

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/com...&autono=215132

[Suncity]

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/com...&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.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by pding

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/upl...angavaram.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.

[nashcode]

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...siness&Topic=0

[Ajaypp]

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. 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.

[nik]

PACIFIC PRINCESS at Cochin

[nik]

Dredging work ahead of schedule at Cochin & Vallarpadam

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."

[nik]

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.

[sudheeshnairs]

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/stor...2221350300.htm

[nik]

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.

[Anniyan]

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...YNAME=National

[WillyWick]

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/com...&autono=216639

[WillyWick]

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/sho...1801&cat=India

[kronik]

Orissa Stevedore team bags Gopalpur port deal

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.

[nik]

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."

[nik]

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