Cochin Port, Shipyard & Vallarpadam ICTT

[India101]

Kochi port shows positive growth

Kochi port has emerged as the fastest growing port in the country, according to local media reports.

Figures recorded during the period between April and December 2010, against the corresponding period in 2009, indicate that traffic handled at the port grew at close to 10%.

The figures released by the Indian Ports Association (IPA) stated that the traffic handled at Kochi grew at 9.82%, whereas most other major ports' average grew at 1.1%.

Container traffic at Kochi also registered an increase of 11.7%, with the port handling 2,045,090 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the period against 2,019,430 TEUs in the same period in 2009.



N. Ramachandran, Chairman of Kochi port, stated that the increase in traffic growth was mainly due to a rise in POL products handling, and the commencement of cement handling by Gujarat Ambuja.

The company handled a throughput of more than 150,000 tonnes of cement during the period, he said.

According to G. Krishna Kumar, Deputy Chairman, the current traffic growth in Kochi is due to the capacity expansion of BPCL-Kochi Refinery, and also container handling at Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal after it was taken over by DP World.

According to port authorities, once the new container terminal at Vallarpadam becomes operational, there should be substantial increase in container handling.

With the commissioning of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal next year, the port is expected to handle a minimum of 40 million tonnes of the commodity within the next 3-4 years.

Krishna Kumar added that by 2017-18, the port is projected to be able to handle a throughput of 60 million tonnes, making it one of the top five ports in the country on a throughput basis.

[madrasi7777]

I was in Kochi with family and I saw this impressive project when I took my family on a boat cruise. I was impressed with what I saw in Kochi. I think Vizag, Kochi and Chennai will be the top 3 big ports in South India.

[mohammedirshad06]

After a glorious 85 years of legacy, the Cochin Port is going to close down its Willingdon operations by end of this month, as the port is shifting to Vallarapadam by first week of next month.

The modern Port of Cochin was commissioned in May 26th, 1926 by Government of British India in the Kingdom of Kochi under orders of British Viceroy Lord Willingdon. Feb 11th may see the closure of Kochi Port.

I feel, it may be an emotional matters for Kochinites seeing their favourite Willingdon Island, now going to be idle, after 8 decades of busy life.

Ignoring the demands raised by the trade unions, the Cochin Port Trust authorities reiterated their stand that the operation of the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT) will have to be suspended once the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) is commissioned. The ICTT is expected to be commissioned by the second week of February.
The trade unions at the Port allege that the move to suspend the operation was illegal and against the interests of the labourers. The trade unions demand that the operation of the terminal should be retained to handle ships carrying coastal cargo, combi vessels and defence vessels.

“RGCT should be retained as there is scope to develop it as a dedicated cargo terminal in view of the recent growth witnessed in the industrial and agricultural sectors in the country. Twenty-five to 30 percent of the containers handled at RGCT are coastal cargo,” union leaders said.
The Port Trust authorities said legally they were not entitled to operate the terminal. “As per the provisions in the agreement with DP World, the Cochin Port cannot operate RGCT till ICTT achieves a handling of 2.5 million TEUs containers. This may take at least five years,” said CPT secretary Cyril George.

The Dubai Port World took over the operations of RGCT in March 2004. The India Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd (IGT), a subsidiary of the DP World which operates the terminal, is a special purpose vehicle with the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), Chakiat Group and Transworld Shipping as stakeholders.

The Port had also handed over the ownership of all heavy duty equipment, except two quay cranes, at the terminal to IGT. “Almost all equipment at the terminal are old and it is not financially viable for the Port to acquire them back. The issue of two quay cranes will be settled later,” Cyril George said. He also said the allegations that labourers would lose jobs were baseless. “All the labourers of the Cochin Port will be protected,” he said.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...ed/241361.html

[DileepKS]

The port is not being shifted. Only the container terminal is moving. The rest of the port operations, like bulk cargo, oil, fertilizer, coal etc stays.

[Malayaali]

Vallarpadam International Container Trans-shipment Terminal - Final Touches

First electric engine passing through the Vallarpadam Rail bridge

The largest container trans-shipment facility in the country is getting its final touches. Road & Rail connectivity is completed. Container terminal yard and office building is open.

As per reports, PM Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the project on Feb 11. Cochin Port Trust, terminal operator DP world, Rail builder Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. and Road builder NHAI are all getting ready for the grand inauguration the state was long waiting for.

Lotus Shipping is going ahead with the Roll On - Roll Off (RO-RO) facility which will help to transport the container trucks from Willingdon Island to Bolghatty Island.

Cochin Port Trust
Dredging process along the 400-450m of the berth is going on. 16m draft will be acquired by Feb 1st week informed CPT officials.

Dubai Ports World
Terminal operations will commence in Feb 1st week itself according to DP world management. Feb 8th is the possible date of first ship arrival. The 16m draft along 350m of the berth has been assured. But the first ship to reach the terminal has not been finalized. Operation of mother vessels is also not confirmed. CPT will confirm on the draft on the basin area in 2-3 days, after which decision on mother vessels will be taken.

Road Connectivity
2-lane connectivity has been completed. 4-lane construction in progress. Toll to be collected on the new road will be notified soon. The 8.5km of the 17km road will be 4-laned by march. Rest of the 4-laning will be delayed as the stretch which was sand filled has still not attained strength.

Rail Connectivity
The new 8.86km electrified rail route from Edappally to Vallarpadam is completed. The bridge built for the rail connectivity is the country's longest.

RO-RO service
The RO_RO facility intended to ease the container traffic will commence operation in February. The container trucks will be carried from Willingdon island to the Bolghatty island through ferry, so that they do not need pass through heavy traffic at Vytilla - Edappally - Kalamassery - Cheranalloor to vallarpadom which is 38km long. Whereas, the trucks can be carried to Bolghatty which is near to VICTT within 30minutes once it reaches willingdon wharf.

Lotus Shipping, contractors for the RO-RO serice will use double-end ferry brought from Singapore.

Double-end ferry used for RO-RO service

Source: Manorama

[Malayaali]

VICTT Inauguration tomorrow

Source: Manorama

[Malayaali]

Court: retain port terminal for 3 months

The High Court on Wednesday directed the Central government and the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) authorities to retain the Rajiv Gandhi container terminal at Willingdon Island for three months for handling domestic cargo, instead of the earlier proposal to shift it to the Vallarpadam terminal.

Undertaking

Justice P.N. Ravindran also recorded an undertaking of the trade unions representing the striking workers that they were withdrawing the strike. The court said that in order to bring the striking employees back to the negotiating table, the Rajiv Gandhi container terminal should be retained at Willingdon Island as an interim measure.

The counsel for the trade unions also submitted that the workers would go back to the negotiating table if the terminal was retained at Willingdon Island. The court also directed that the Union government, Kerala government and the Port authorities to address the concern expressed by the trade unions over the loss of jobs of 1,000 workers, in consultation with India Gateway Terminal Private Ltd.

The unions feared that workers would lose job once the terminal was shifted to Vallarpadam.

The court gave the directives while disposing of a writ petition filed by the Seafood Exporters Association of India, Mangala Seafood Exim Private Ltd. and Kitex Garments Ltd.

The association also sought a directive to the Cochin Port Trust authorities to immediately dispatch the 129 containers of marine/sea food products that were lying in the dock due to the strike by a section of the employees of the Steamer Agents Association and United Stevedores Association.

The petitioners pointed out that the workers went on a strike without notice and the strike had brought to a halt the functioning of the terminal.

The goods sent to the terminal still remained at the port.

As many as 129 containers of seafood worth Rs.39 crore could not be sent to various destinations owing to the strike.

Despatch of goods

The court observed that once the operation of the terminal recommenced, the CPT could take steps to ensure that the goods in the port were dispatched.

The Hindu

Is this an order? If so, the existing agreement with DP world has to be challenged right?

[Kiru_PTA]

Originally Posted by Malayaali

VICTT Inauguration tomorrow

Source: Manorama

All the newspapers have published the same photo in today's editions. Which road is that? It seems that an ROB is urgently required for that road.

[induzcreed]

The picture is taken from the ROB under construction.

[Kiru_PTA]

Originally Posted by induzcreed

The picture is taken from the ROB under construction.

Thank you for the clarification induzcreed

[ypki]

How valarpadam container terminal can generate 60,000 jobs?? i think the total employees may not exceed 1000.. it can bring some shipping companies also.. but 60,000 is very high .. ryt??
Any body know the right reason??

[Malayaali]

Vallarpadam Container Tran-shipment Terminal Dedicated to Nation

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday dedicated to the nation the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) in Kerala. It's the largest single-operator container terminal in the country.

Manmohan Singh, launching the Rs.3,250 crore first phase of the project in Vallarpadam off the Kochi coast, said it is a symbol of the government's commitment to Kerala's development.

"This is also a symbol of the how private public partnership can be a commitment to the public good. Also this is a symbol of cooperation with our West Asian neighbours," said Singh.

He said it would will give a major boost to reducing the cost of exports and imports.

"Through this Kochi is all set become as an attractive investment area not only for Kerala but for the country and also this could well be the start of more investment from UAE where a large number of our diaspora work," said Manmohan Singh.

The new terminal is expected to become a transhipment hub that and country will no longer have to rely on ports like Colombo, Dubai and Singapore. Thanks to the terminal, the cost of freight of a container is expected to come down by $300 and the transshipment time by almost 10 days.

The total number of containers handled in the first phase would be one million and would touch four million containers annually when fully operational.

The terminal has been developed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis by the Dubai Port World (DPW), which won a global tender after quoting a gross revenue share of 33.3 percent to the Cochin Port Trust (CPT).

Rs.1,650 crore has come from the central government while the DPW invested Rs.1,600 crore. The BOT is for 30 years.

Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation stone for the project in February 2005.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Friday used his speech to demand more from the central government.

"The proposed Kochi Metro is awaiting clearance from the centre and during the previous UPA government we were given a coach factory which was to come up in Palakkad, but it has still not materialised. We have done what we have to do and we wish these projects are cleared," said Achuthanandan.

Deputy Chairman of Dubai Executive Council Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum was also present on the occasion.

Manorama
Manglorean

Landmark Day for Kerala!!

[Malayaali]

A mammoth task achieved

MAIDEN CALL: The first vessel OEL Dubai that called at the
Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal

Building the road and rail connectivity and capital dredging were the key ingredients that went into establishing the first container transhipment terminal in the country.

The National Highway connectivity project was undertaken by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and involved building a four-lane road with a route length of 17.2 km between Kalamassery and Vallarpadam.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the project in April 2007 for an estimated cost of Rs. 557 crore, which was later revised to Rs. 872 crore.

The contract for construction of road and bridges was awarded in May 2007 and the construction work started during August 2007.

The connectivity comprises a fly-over along NH 47 near Kalamassery, 11 major bridges and a minor bridge across the Vembanad backwaters linking the various islands contiguous to Vallarpadam.

Cochin Port Trust was entrusted with the work of handing over of 6.70 km of land by dredging the backwaters and forming an embankment along the backwaters. The work was completed by the Port in August 2009.

There was some delay in land acquisition owing largely to opposition from people who were affected by the project near Moolampilly area.

There were also several court cases related to rehabilitation and payment of adequate compensation, which delayed completion of the acquisition procedures.

Acquisition of land (a total area of 46.36 ha) was completed in July 2008 and the total amount of compensation paid is Rs. 85.18 crore.

Though the targeted four-lane connectivity could not be completed so far, two-lane national highway link was completed in October 2010 and works on the additional two lanes are in progress. The project is expected to be completed by December 2013.

The rail connectivity project was taken by the special purpose vehicle Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).

The rail link project involved building an 8.86-km rail link between Edapally and Vallarpadam Island.

The project was sanctioned in March 2007 at an estimated cost of Rs. 245.67 crore and a revised cost estimate for Rs. 298.17 crore was approved in December 2009.

A second revision of the cost was made and the estimate cost was raised to Rs. 395.05 crore.

Construction works

The construction activities commenced in March 2007. The connectivity comprised three major bridges, including India's longest rail bridge (4.62 km), and several smaller bridges.

The longest railway bridge in the country was built in two years and equalled building 190 metres of bridge per month or 6.3 metres of bridge every day.

This was an enviable record considering the fact that about 80 per cent of this bridge was built in the backwaters.

This bridge is constructed over pile foundations at 133 locations.

The height of the bridge is about 7.5 m above the ground level after the entry and the exit points and this allows water channel movement and road crossings at Mulavukad and Chittoor.

A total of 231 girders, each girder weighing 220 tonnes, were cast at Vallarpadam and transported to the location using motorised trolleys.

The bridge took 18,000 tonnes of steel, 50,000 tonnes of cement and is founded over piles totalling to about 64,000 m for the complete bridge.

Capital dredging for deepening and widening of the approach channel and berth basin of International ICTT to provide a draft of 14.5 m at Vallarpadam was a major challenge.

As per the conditions in the licence agreement, Cochin Port Trust is obliged to provide deeper and wider navigational channels to cater to the requirement of 8000+TEU container vessels.

The Hindu

[Malayaali]

First vessel berths at Vallarpadam

The first vessel berthed at the Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) on Thursday. The Panama flag vessel, OEL Dubai, arrived from Colombo at the new facility due for inauguration on Friday by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The vessel, which arrived here with more than 500 containers, will head back to Colombo.

Meanwhile, the Special Economic Zone administration facility was ceremonially opened at the Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal jointly by the Chairman of Cochin Port Trust N. Ramachandran and the Development Commissioner of Vallarpadam Special Economic Zone C. J. Mathew. Rama Mathew, Commissioner of Customs; K.K. Krishnadas, Chief Executive Officer, DP World, Cochin; Suresh Joseph, former General Manager, DP World, Cochin; D. Shyamala, Commandant, CISF and P. Nandakumar, General Manager, Container Corporation of India Limited were also present at the inauguration, said an official statement here on Thursday.

The International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam, to be formally dedicated to the nation on Friday, is the first port-based Special Economic Zone in the country marking the beginning of a new era in cargo handling, the official statement added. It is also unique in being the first transhipment terminal operating in a Special Economic Zone under the SEZ Act, 2005.It is committed to a paradigm shift in cargo handling and seamless movement of goods. It is also indicative of the flexibility offered by the Special Economic Zone scheme in the country.

The Hindu

[Malayaali]

An aerial view of the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, Kochi. (file photo)
Source: The Hindu Business Line

[Malayaali]

India Gateway Terminal - DP World Cochin - Vallarpadam














IGTPL

[sanjupalayat]

Historical!!!

[mohammedirshad06]

Originally Posted by sanjupalayat

Historical!!!

Great Great.... Hope projects like Vallarpadam will fuel our state's growth



My best wishes for Kochi and its growth

[mohammedirshad06]

The opening of India's first transshipment hub at Kochi on Friday will allow large ships and vessels to berth, refuel, offload and upload cargo, before taking off to different destination across the world. With Kochi being on the international sea-route, the hub will help in improving traffic

significantly, especially those who are moving from East Asia to Europe.
The entire cargos which are getting offloaded or uploaded at the neighbouring transshipment hub in Colombo will now be possible in India.

"This will save cost and time substantially in transportation of containers related to export and import, as the entire business India had to conduct at Colombo hub, would now take place here," said secretary, ministry of shipping, K Mohandas.

A transshipment hub is the zone from where shipment of goods or containers takes place to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination.

The hub at Kochi is a public private partnership (PPP) project, in which the private promoter Dubai-based DP World has invested Rs 1,200 crore in the first phase and the government Rs 1551.4 crore for building road, rail and dredging. In the second phase, DP World will invest another Rs 2,118 crore.

Once the Kochi hub gets operational, it will handle 1 million TEU container ships per year in the first phase.

TEU refers to the capacity of container ships and 1 TEU is equal to 20-feet equivalent unit container. The capacity will be enhanced to 3 million TEU.

The hub also has container freight station and a feeder service to other ports.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Kochi-...e1-660873.aspx

It is very rarely that a Prime Minister in India gets an opportunity to commision the big budget and India's first International Container Transshipment Terminal in Vallarpadam that was inaugurated by himself in 2005. The chance was bagged by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A proud moment for Kerala, the project was flagged off in a glittering ceremony that was attended by Chief Minister of Kerala, V S Achutanandan; Defence Minister A K Antony; Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi; Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways C P Joshi; Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan; Union Minister of State for Home Mullapaly Ramachandran, Union Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas; Union Minister of State for Power K C Venugopal; Governor R S Gawai and the Chairman of Cochin Port Trust N Ramachandran as well.

Buzz up!

"With the building of this terminal, our exporters can now access mainline containers vessel calling at one of the most well-located ports of India," Prime Minister said on the occasion. The first phase of the Rs 3,200 crore terminal under the Cochin Port expansion project will mark a considerable decrease in expenses during import-export.


The first-of-its-kind terminal was built by the Dubai Ports World at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore. The terminal has a capacity of 1 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) of cargo per annum. Another Rs 1,700 crore was spent in parallel infrastructure like road and rail connectivity to the terminal.

"The ICTT in Vallarpadam is thus a long-awaited milestone in the development of a country's logistic infrastructure. Today, about 60 per cent of India's exports and imports containers are transshipped through ports like Singapore and Colombo. This transshipment through ports outside the country involves an additional expenditure of USD 300 per container and an extra 7-10 days of transit time,” Manmohan Singh said.

He also lauded the public-private partnership in the project and hoped that the new addition would mean more investments to the state.
http://news.oneindia.in/2011/02/11/v...a-aid0113.html

Created by nature, visited by international travellers and administered by successive colonial powers through centuries, the Port of Kochi (erstwhile Cochin) has a very long and chequered history of growth and evolution.

From being the Queen of the Arabian Sea to becoming the maritime gateway of India, it has been years of evolution for the port, the origin of which goes back to 1341 AD. During that year, a catastrophe struck the famous Muziris (modern day Kodungalloor) port in the form of a great flood, which silted up the harbour, making it impossible for vessels to berth. This marked the beginning of the story of the Kochi Port.

Prior to that, a small river flowed by Cochin with an opening into the sea. The waves of the flood that silted up Muziris, amplified the opening in Cochin and converted the harbour into one of the finest and safest ports in India. According to historians, the name Cochin must have been derived from the word Kocchazhi, which roughly translates as ‘small harbour,' to distinguishing it from Cranganore/Muziris/Kodungalloor, which was situated 22 miles north and was once a busy maritime hub.

Trade through Cochin started to flourish when Vasco da Gama discovered the potential of export of the spices of Kerala. The advent of the colonial traders from Portugal, Holland and England saw the Port of Cochin gaining in status.

In its second stage of growth, the port came under the sway of Sir Robert Bristow, the harbour engineer specially deputed to Cochin.

He was the architect of the present modern port, which was developed during 1920-1940. Sir Robert was responsible for the daring engineering feat of cutting across the rock-like barrier of sand and silt at the mouth of the harbour to open up the present port located on Willingdon Island (reclaimed from the backwaters using dredged-up soil).

An approach channel, 450-foot-wide and 31.2-mile-long was also cut connecting the port with the open sea. By 1930-31, the port was formally thrown open to vessels with up to 30 ft. draft.

Cochin was declared a major port on August 1, 1936 by the government of India and during 1939, the Mattancherry wharf was commissioned. The harbour administration was taken over by the government of India and Sir Robert was appointed as the first administrative officer of the port.

The administration of the port was vested in the hands of a Port Trust Board on February 29, 1964 under the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.

Cochin Port today is indeed the ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea' as prophesied by the then Diwan of Cochin Sir R. K. Shanmugham Chetty, who coined that expression more than 50 years ago.

From a mere roadstead until the beginning of this century, the Port of Cochin has undergone dramatic changes and now stands as a modern port with all equipment and facilities to match the challenges of the new century.

With its strategic location on the crossroads of the East-West maritime highway, the port is a natural gateway to the vast industrial and agricultural produce markets of south-west India. With the commissioning of the various projects under implementation, the Port of Cochin is bound to grow and transform itself into the transhipment hub of India.

The hinterland of Kochi Port includes the whole of Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. A study carried out on the traffic flow in the hinterland of the port indicates that about 97 per cent of the total volume of traffic is accounted for by the State of Kerala.

The hinterland of the port has further spread over to different areas with the growth of containerisation in the country and establishment of Inland Container Depots at different load centres in India. Kochi, with its proximity to the international sea route, can attract a large number of container lines offering immense sailing opportunities.

An indication of the coming growth of Kochi is evident in the progress the port has made over the recent decades.


When containerisation commenced at Kochi in 1974-75, the port handled a total of just 1,544 TUEs of cargo from 24 vessels.

By 1979-80, container movement went past the 10,000 TEU mark and by 1991-92, container throughput touched 52,144 TEUs from 253 vessels. During the last financial year, container throughput at Kochi grew to nearly three lakh TEUs. A total number of 389 container vessels were serviced at the port during the period.

The total cargo throughput too has seen such dramatic changes over the decades starting in 1936-37. In the first year of its operations, the port handled a total of 7.52 lakh tonnes of cargo. Cargo throughput went past the one million-tonne-mark in 1943-44.

The port achieved the two-million-tonne mark in cargo throughput during 1960-61. During 1977-78, the port went past the five-million-tonne mark in cargo throughput. The growth has continued for Kochi. During the current financial year Kochi Port handled a total of 1,47,30,807 tonnes of cargo between April 2010 and January 2011.

http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/11/stor...1151460200.htm

All set for Kerala to become India's biggest logistics state.......

[scorpiogenius]

Originally Posted by Malayaali

An aerial view of the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, Kochi. (file photo)
Source: The Hindu Business Line

The single most pivotal development in the history of Kerala's growth. Kudos to all who worked towards the fulfillment of this dream project.