Cochin (Kochi) / Ernakulam Projects II

[nik]

Continued from here

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=127857


This is intended to be a comprehensive list of Major Kochi projects with investments > 1000 cr. which have taken-off or about to take off. Contribute to this list and keep it up-to-date...

Under Execution

Vallarpadam ICTT - Rs.2500 cr. - by Dubai Ports World (earlier known as Dubai Ports Intn'l)

LNG terminal - Rs.3000 cr. - by Petronet India Ltd & Qatar Gas

Refinery Expansion - Rs.2500 cr. - by Kochi Refineries.
and SBM

Smart City - Rs. 1500 cr - by Dubai Internet City

About to take off

Gas cracker - Rs. 7000 cr - GAIL (to be approved by GAIL board in Nov
complex and to take off on Dec. 1, 2005)

Kochi Metro Rail - Rs. 2500 cr - DMRC
(KMR)

Aircraft
Maintenance
& Airport Expn - Rs 3500 cr - CIAL


Free Trade Zone - Rs. 5000 cr. - Dubai Ports World (in tie-up with others)
and SEZ

Proposals at advanced stage.

Second Shipyard - Rs. 2500 cr - to be decided

Urban Infrastructure - Rs. 1500 cr - Saihathi group (of Saudi)

Excluded from the list are major upcoming expansions of FACT, Cochin Shipyard which runs into about Rs. 4000 cr. but awaits central approval.

Small and Medium Projects (not a complete list)

Fashion City - Rs. 200 cr - Liberty of Italy.

Marina - Rs 50 cr. - a Malaysian co.

City Gas/ - Rs.300 cr - GAIL/Petronet
CNG
distribution

Expansions of
software
facilities - over Rs 1200 - Wipro, TCS, IBS, ACS, Satyam, OPI

Tech Parks - Rs 150 cr - L&T, Leela-Scottish

Thus far confirmed investments alone totals to over Rs. 30,000 cr.

**This thread can be kept here or under Projects> or Infrastructure> according to members opinion.

[nik]

News on City Gas.

Kochi LNG marketing network to be ready by 2009: Banerjee
Sunday October 16 2005 00:00 IST

PTI

KOCHI: The Public Sector Gail (India) Limited, engaged in natural gas transmission and marketing in the country, has drawn up comprehensive plans to market the 2.5 million tonne LNG to be available at the Kochi terminal by 2009.

Disclosing this at a media conference here , GAIL (India) Limited chairman and managing director Proshanto Banerjee said laying of gas grids on the Kochi-Mangalore and Kochi-Bangalore via Coimbatore sectors as also a Kochi-Kayamkulam-Chavara sub sea pipe line to link the NTPC power plant and Kerala minerals and metals limited would be completed within the stipulated time.

These two projects would involve an investment of Rs 2,450 crore, he said. Besides supply of regasified liquified natural gas (RLNG) to industrial customers in the region, setting up of CNG stations in Kerala, especially in Kochi city, and supply of piped gas to domestic consumers in the city were also being taken up, he said.

Banerjee said Gail had signed heads of agreement with a number of customers in Kerala for gas supply.

Gail also explained to the state Chief Minister Oommen Chandy the progress of implementation of the projects drawn up by it at a review meeting held here on Saturday, he said.

Answering a question, he said the foundation stone laying for the Kochi LNG terminal, proposed to come up at Puthuvypeen Island here, was being postponed by a few days in view of the announcement of the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha by-election.

The foundation stone was earlier scheduled to be laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 1.

[nik]

Latest

GAIL plans petro complex

Staff Reporter(The Hindu, Oct 16, 2005)
Kochi project to have Rs. 7,000 cr. outlay


KOCHI: GAIL will set up a seven lakh tonnes per annum (tpa) integrated petrochemical plant in Kochi at an investment of Rs. 7,000 crore. The process of establishing the plant is progressing according to schedule, the Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL (India) Limited, Proshanto Banerjee, said here on Saturday. The project is likely to be commissioned coinciding with the commissioning of the LNG terminal at Kochi.

The petrochemical complex will produce six lakh tpa of ethylene and one lakh tpa of propylene. The feedstock for this plant will be imported LNG which will be regasified at the Petronet LNG Terminal Limited.

GAIL will lay pipelines from Kochi to Mangalore and Kochi to Bangalore via Coimbatore for supplying regasified liquid natural gas (RLNG) to customers in these areas.

The length of the pipeline in the Kerala region will be 522 km. A pipeline from Kochi to Kayamkylam will be laid to supply gas to NTPC, Kayamkulam. This apart, a sub-sea pipeline will also connect Kochi to Kayamkulam. GAIL had already signed Heads of Agreement with a number of customers in Kerala for the supply of gas. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with KSIDC. Mr. Banerjee said final approval for the petrochemical project was being awaited from the GAIL board, which would be meeting soon. The petrochemical complex will come up at the land to be purchased from FACT for which negotiations were on.

The marketing of gas will be done by the GAIL-IOC-BPCL combine.

The LNG will be sourced from Qatar, Iran and other countries. GAIL is looking for multiple sources, including Malaysia for gas supply. A tender had already been floated for shipping gas from Rasgas Company of Qatar, which will supply 2.5 million tonnes annually.

Mr. Banerjee said an MoU had been signed with BPCL for forming a joint venture company for the city gas distribution project to be taken up in Kochi and other cities.

A medical facility for diagnosis of air pollution related diseases will be opened at the General Hospital at Ernakulam.

[Dewan]

Hi Nik,

Its nice to see this thread, but many projects are not listed there.Like "ship repair dock", "warehousing zone" etc.



regards
dewan

[Dewan]

more SEZs......

SEZs in Puthu Vype and Vallarpadam



Staff Reporter

Bunkering, cruise terminals in the pipeline





KOCHI: The Union Government has given sanction for creating Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Vallarpadam and Puthu Vype near here.

The Central Government is expected to come out soon with a notification in this regard, according to Industries Secretary and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Managing Director P.H. Kurien.

"The SEZs will be set up in 115 hectares of land in Vallarpadam and 270 hectares in Puthu Vype. The proposed Vallarpadam international transhipment terminal will be located in the SEZ there. The proposed LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal, Single-Buoy Mooring (SBM) facility and gas-cracker complex too will be established soon. In Puthu Vype, 160 hectares of land will be declared as free-trade zone."

He said this after a meeting convened at the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) on Saturday to assess the progress of development schemes like the SEZs, GAIL gas grid and the LNG project.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Among those present were GAIL Chairman Prashanto Bannerjee, District Collector A. P. M. Mohammed Hanish and officials of the CPT.

"Project reports are being prepared for allied projects as well. The Government will go forward with the proposal to establish an international bunkering terminal and ship-repair yard in Kochi. A cruise terminal for berthing huge cruise liners carrying tourists too is in the offing.

"Though cruise terminals are in the line at ports in Mumbai, Goa and Mangalore, it would be ideal to locate it in Kochi since it is just three hours by sea from the international shipping route which passes through the Indian Ocean," Mr. Kurien said.

[bloodmoon]

BSF unit planned in Ernakulam

Source ::: IANS
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is all set to have its first full-fledged unit of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Ernakulam district.

"This was decided during the last round of talks we had with BSF Director General R S Mooshahary here yesterday," Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said.

"The state government has agreed to give nearly 100 acres of land to the BSF at a cost and the first phase of its unit would be set up in Ernakulam district by February next year," Chandy said.

Nearly 1,000 BSF personnel would arrive in the first phase.

Chandy said that it would be a great boost for the nearly 10,000 BSF officials who hail from Kerala.

[Dewan]

KOCHI METRO... DMRC to be the consultant..

Delhi Metro appointed consultant of Kochi Metro project
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government today appointed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as the prime consultant for the construction of the proposed metro rail project for Kochi.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy with senior cabinet ministers and officials.

''A special cell will be formed for the speedy implementation of the project and Ms Sheela Thomas has been appointed as the the special officer for the project,'' Minister for Water Resources Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said.

He said a committee headed by the Chief Secretary had been constituted to oversee the implementation of the project and the Expression of Interest for the project would soon be invited.

Mr Radhakrishnan said the DMRC had also been asked to prepare a feasibility study for the Thiruvananthapuram Metro Rail Project.

The DMRC had made a presentation on the feasibility of the Kochi Metro Rail in August this year.

[Dewan]

GDA Technologies Launches Kochi Design Center; To Develop into a Global Facility in the Near Future

Kochi, Kerala/San Jose Ca, October 19, 2005:

GDA Technologies Inc, the California-based Electronic Design Services company, today announced the launch of its state-of-the-art design center at Kochi in Kerala and the target is to develop this into a global facility in the near future.

The center would have 25 qualified engineers working in it by the end of the year with the capacity set to double over the next one year and the expansion would be targeted towards supporting other GDA tech centers.

Incubated at the Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology (RASET), Kakkanad (Kochi), the center would focus on complex board designs, embedded software development besides seeking to expand into other areas as well, company officials said.

Fr. Jose Alex, Director of RASET lighted the lamp and formally launched the center today at 11.30 a.m.

“We signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with RASET in June and with in the timeline set, we are now operational in three months. At Kochi, we will be focusing in developing Embedded Technology.” said Gopa Periyadan, VP and GM of Systems Division at GDA Technologies. Arun Ramanathan, Senior Director, GDA Chennai Design center, Sebastian Nedumala, Director of GDA Sacramento Design Center and Thomas S, Sr. Manager for Kochi Design Center, accompanied him.

“With industry’s active participation like this, we hope to promote a new culture in the campus, which will provide a greater exposure for the aspiring engineering students, and a more effective industry-institution interaction,” said Fr. Jose Alex in his inaugural address.

GDA has design centers in San Jose, Sacramento, Boston, Irvine, Bangalore and Chennai with Kochi being the third design center of the Silicon Valley headquartered company in India.

About GDA Technologies:

GDA Technologies Inc. is a leading Electronic Design Services (EDS) and Silicon Intellectual Property (SIP) solution provider for the embedded, networking, and consumer electronics markets. GDA specializes in designing ASICs, FPGAs, IPs, boards, SoCs, software, and complete systems from concept to product. GDA has been the leading solution provider for fast interconnect technologies such as PCI Express, HyperTransport, RapidIO, Ethernet, and Advanced Switching, with several licenses sold in computing, networking, and communications markets. GDA is headquartered in San Jose, California with satellite design centers in Boston, Sacramento, Chennai, Kochi, and Bangalore.

[Dewan]

More marinas from private players...

Meanwhile, UK-based Walcon Marine is planning to team up with Mumbai-based company Acquasale Yacht and Powerboat Ltd to start marina infrastructure in Mumbai and Kochi. Walcon Marine has undertaken several marina development projects across the globe.

Acquasale is undertaking a feasibility study to set up a marina base in Mumbai. Acquasale Director Shakeel Kudroili said, "We are also exploring the options to set up marina in Kochi." Dutta of Marine Solutions pointed out that the increase in the number of India International Boat Show (IIBS) held in Kochi shows the interest of global majors in India.

[bloodmoon]

Iranian airline to fly to Kochi by Dec

IANS[ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2005 01:10:51 PM]

KOCHI: A private Iranian airline is set to begin flying into this port city from December with all the necessary clearances in place.
Mahan Air, based in Iran's Kerman town, will become the 16th airline to fly into Kochi, said V.J. Kurian, chief of the Cochin Airport India Limited (CIAL).
"To start with, they would operate three flights a week connecting Tehran and Kochi. Though the exact dates are to be announced, the commencement is fixed for December," Kurian told the agency.
CIAL was formed in 1998 as a public limited company with equity participation from the Kerala government and a large number of non-resident Indians, most of them in the Middle East

[nik]

Kochi gearing up to refurbish its industrial infrastructure

K.Venkiteswaran

Manmohan to lay stone for LNG Terminal

# Vallarpadam, Smart City to become reality soon
# Roadmap for the completion of LNG Terminal finalised
# Single Buoy Mooring project work begins

KOCHI:

As the Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal and the Smart City are on their way to become reality, Kochi is gearing up to refurbish its industrial infrastructure too.
The latest announcement is regarding the setting up of two Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the Rs.7,000-crore petrochemical complex at the initiative of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL). Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to lay the foundation stone for the Rs.2,300-crore Petronet LNG Terminal at Puthu Vype in the first week of December.

Sources here said that Petronet LNG and GAIL, the implementing agencies of the massive projects, have finalised the roadmap for the completion of the LNG Terminal, the petrochemical complex and the pipeline project to supply gas in Kochi city as well as to the second phase of the Kayamkulam thermal power project, and extension of the gas pipeline to Kannur, Bangalore and Coimbatore.

The Rs.700-crore Single Buoy Mooring project of the Kochi Refineries has also got off to a start with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy witnessing the piling operations here on Saturday.

Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) sources said that the 50-lakh-tonne LNG terminal project made significant progress after the short-listing of four companies for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. Doubts were raised about the feasibility of the project what with tsunami affecting the Puthu Vype area necessitating a second environmental study. The contract for bringing LNG by sea is to be awarded soon and the project work will be inaugurated in December, according to P.H. Kurien of the KSIDC. The Rs.2,300-crore project is expected to be commissioned in 2009, and would mark a new high in the industrialisation of Kerala. LNG, a low cost fuel, will make industrial products in the State more competitive in the global market, it is pointed out. The project, KSIDC sources aver, is to invigorate the industrial sector in the State. Another Rs.2,000-crore project for transporting liquefied LNG to other destinations for Rs.2,000-crore is also getting ready.

The detailed project report of the petrochemical complex is ready. It was announced during the Prime Minister's visit to Kerala in February last and is expecting clearance by the GAIL board in a few week's time now. The five-lakh-tonne gas cracker plant is expected to produce polypropylene, HDPE and LDPE, which can be made raw material for plastic-based industries. The project is expected to generate direct employment for 700 people and GAIL is in the process of buying 200 hectares of land at Ambalamugal, near here.

[nik]

State's tallest building to come up in Kochi

Sunday October 23 2005 00:00 IST

KOCHI: The largest and tallest luxurious commercial complex in Kerala will come up in Kochi with the Saudi Arabian Government expressing interest in investing the project.

Initial round of talks was held with the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) for availing land for the purpose. Saudi Arabia will invest 350 million dollars in Kerala, which will also be utilised for constructing the commercial complex.

GCDA chairman Antony Issac said that the land for the building has been identified at Manappattiparambu, near Kaloor. Around 2.10 acres of land is owned by the GCDA at Manappattiparambu which is at present used only for trade fairs.

Saudi Arabia plans to construct a 30-storeyed building at this site, which will be the highest building in Kerala. His Excellency Abdullah Saihidi of Saudi Arabia will be holding talks with the GCDA soon.

The entire face of Kochi will change with one more highrise coming up at Kaloor, apart from the 21-storeyed Mini Muthoot Towers, which is nearing completion. With the establishment of the commercial complex, the busy commercial centre on the MG Road will be expanded to the northern side of the city.

During the talks, the GCDA offered the land at a price of Rs 8 lakh per cent. The project will be on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

Reports indicate that the Saudi Arabian Government had already approved the proposal of the GCDA. Another team led by Abdullah Saihidi will be in Kerala soon to chalk out the proposal for setting up the luxurious complex in Kochi. Another proposal for a commercial complex near Fashion Street on the MG Road is also under consideration of the GCDA . The shops of textile vendors in Fashion Street will be shifted to the new complex.

The third largest project of the GCDA will come up at Thevara, where another commercial complex will come up . All the projects will be on BOT basis and the funding will not cause any problem for the State Government or the GCDA.

According to Issac, the projects are likely to be finalised within three months and the work is expected to begin once the project report is completed. The State Government had given the go-ahead signal for the development of Kochi and the Saudi Government can invest in the project of the GCDA.

[nik]

GAIL not likely to buy land from FACT

Staff Reporter

Company to explore sites in the eastern parts: Collector

KOCHI: Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) is likely to set up the proposed Rs. 7,000-crore petrochemical complex and township in the eastern parts of Ernakulam district as its negotiations with Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) for about 240 hectares of land are learnt to have failed. Officials of GAIL, led by its chairman, held discussions with FACT authorities last Saturday.

The officials have now expressed willingness to inspect sites on the eastern parts of the city, said District Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish here on Monday.

They had told Mr. Hanish about GAIL's inability to agree to FACT's demand that the land at Ambalamugal complex be bought at the market price. FACT, going through a financial crisis, was not ready to accept the price fixed by the Collector.

Hence, the GAIL officials are interested in exploring sites on the eastern parts of the district. Though the expenditure on laying a pipeline from the proposed LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal at Puthuvype to these areas will be higher, the lower land price prevents an escalation of the project cost.

Township plan

GAIL's plan is to develop a township similar to the National Thermal Power Corporation's township in Kayamkulam.

The project involves a five-lakh tonne gas-cracker plant producing polypropylene, HDPE and LDPE, which are raw materials for plastic-based industries.

Direct employment is expected for 700 people, while many more will be employed indirectly.

GAIL has donated Rs. 20 crores to Ernakulam General Hospital for buying equipment needed for the Centre for Treating Respiratory Diseases.

In return, the Government is giving a site to it in Marine Drive, with the help of the Greater Cochin Development Authority, for setting up an electromagnetic display board showing the pollution levels in the city.

GAIL is working on the display board.

[nik]

Major Kochi projects under review

Staff Reporter(The Hindu)

T.K.A. Nair asks officials to stick to time schedule

KOCHI: T.K.A. Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, on Saturday, reviewed the major projects coming up in Kochi. Officials from various departments took part in the meeting. A high-level official group has been formed to monitor the projects.

The projects under review included the LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal, Vallarpadom container transhipment terminal, GAIL (India) Ltd. petrochemical complex, city gas distribution, port-based special economic zone, gas grid from Kochi to the Kayamkulam plant of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project Stage 2.

All these projects are being monitored by the Prime Minister's Office.

[nik]

From The Telegraph

Tug-of-war looms over port upgrade
S.P.S PANNU


New Delhi, Nov. 20: A controversy seems to be brewing over the location of two world-class shipyards proposed to be built at an investment of Rs 6,000 crore.

Shipping minister T.R. Baalu told The Telegraph that global tenders would be floated for preparing project reports on several ports and then the ports will be selected.

Shipping secretary D.T. Joseph, on the other hand, has shortlisted Paradip on the east coast and Cochin on the west coast for setting up the shipyards.

He has even set up a panel headed by the chairman of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust to look at the possibility of setting up shipyards at Paradip and Cochin ports. The consultants for the project are likely to be appointed after the JNPT chief submits the report.

Joseph has chosen Paradip and Cochin ports because of their deeper harbours, which can be used to make big ships. He said these two ports could be the starting point. However, Baalu may shift the venue of the proposed east-coast shipyard to Tamil Nadu.

Talking about developing Sagar as a new port, Baalu said, “Even Sagar could be one of the ports to set up the shipyard.” However, the Sagar port is being developed primarily to reduce the congestion at Haldia and Calcutta ports and enable bigger vessels to berth.

Domestic shipping firms such as Shipping Corporation of India and Great Eastern Shipping Co have placed orders for new ships with South Korean shipyards. These companies also send large ships for repair abroad as indigenous shipyards are too small. The shipping ministry is keen to reverse this trend.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd is the only shipyard in the country, which has the capacity to build and repair large ocean-going vessels. However, its capacity of 130,000 DWT will have to be expanded as current shipbuilding orders are mainly for VLCC and the smaller Aframax tankers constitute only a minor portion.

With the exception of the Cochin shipyard, the other 20 shipyards in the country are either running in losses or are merely breaking even. Due to lack of orders, the capacity utilisation of Indian shipyards ranges from 20-50 per cent.

Under its national maritime development programme, the ministry has estimated an outlay of Rs 2,800 crore for upgrading the state-owned shipyards over the next 10 years, while private shipyards will need an investment of Rs 1,200 crore.

There is a huge opportunity for Indian shipyards in the overseas market as leading shipbuilders have their capacities booked and are refusing further orders. Foreign shipbuilders such as Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Hyundai, Daewoo, China Ship and Dalian are not taking any more orders as their capacities are fully booked till 2007.

The Clipper group of Denmark had to place orders for four ships with Cochin Shipyard as the leading firms could not take the orders. The vessels are expected to be delivered this fiscal.

[hellomister]

Calicut has rtes of 1500 /sq.ft for flats for seafacing highrises. The same in Cohin is 2600/sq.ft. I see huge potential for this city next in Kerala.

There are 4 proects that are on South Beach. Also the huge thing that is coming up is listed at yasoram.com

[nik]

Hello Mr. Hellomister...

welcome. Hope you have seen some nice Calicut projects under Kerala projects thread. List them up on Calicut thread

[e_arunsid]

Dec 6 2005

Kochi: Kerala has decided to go ahead with the Rs 2236 crore Kochi Metro Rail project aimed at easing traffic congestion in Kochi, with a population of 1.9 million, on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here tonight.

Speaking to reporters after chairing a public meeting to elicit the views of Kochiites, he said expression of intent letters would be sought at the earliest.

Earlier, presenting the detailed project report before the public here this evening, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director Dr E Sreedharan gave a briefing on both the Delhi-model and BOT but said the latter would be more viable and efficient.

''Going by the vociferous support here by the participants, I take it for granted that all have welcomed the idea of metro,'' Mr Chandy said, adding there was no need for apprehensions on financial constraints for the project.

Answering concerns raised by different organisations and public figures including local MLAs, he said the Government would take all views into consideration and would not compromise on quality.

The 25.3 km light metro rail from Aluva to Petta, with a capacity to carry 24,000 passengers per hour in three-coach trains, was expected to be commissioned by January or February, 2010. DMRC, appointed as consultants in December last, submitted the final report in July 2005 and the Government approved it on October 31.

Central clearance for the project was expected by March 31, 2006.

''BOT project, like in other cities like Mumbai, Ahamedabad and Hyderabad, will obviously be more effective as Government-run projects over-run time and costs,'' Dr Sreedharan said.

However, many leaders present took objection to the BOT plan.

They also raised concerns on possible traffic snarls during construction time and acquiring private land.

The rail project, that has 1.75 km underground path and 24.07 elevated track, would save Rs 103 crore worth fuel and Rs 142 crore worth travel time to cater to the 1.9 million population of Kochi.

[nik]

Construction works on for India's sole transshipment hub

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.

[nik]

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.