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Panel favours Cochin as transshipment port

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The subcommittee constituted by the Indian Shipping Board for studying the establishment of a transshipment terminal in the country has found Vallarpadam off Cochin the most ideal site for the same.

The subcommittee, headed by member of Parliament P C Thomas, which visited the site under opined that Cochin has the same locational advantages as Colombo, the only transshipment terminal in the subcontinent. The members felt that since Cochin lies on the trunk route between Europe/Middle East and the Far East, it had the potential to serve the needs of the entire subcontinent.

The idea for a transshipment terminal in the country was mooted by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his first budget speech. He had suggested Cochin or Tuticorin as the possible locations.

The subcommittee members, who were asked to identify the advantages of the two locations, found that Cochin possessed one great advantage: it had available 140 hectares of reclaimed land for establishing a well-laid world class container terminal. Most terminals the world over are facing space constraints since they are located on existing port premises.

The subcommittee felt that the project, estimated to cost about Rs 20 billion, should be implemented as a national project. The committee members said that they favoured a joint venture with the Cochin Port Trust being the major partner. The Cochin Port Trust's stake can come in the form of land, Thomas said.

The port trust has evinced interest in the project, which was found technically and economically feasible by Dutch consultants Frederic R Harris in their study in 1991. The consultants will now be asked to update its report, taking into account the size of modern vessels.

The subcommittee is scheduled to meet again in New Delhi on November 10 to decide on a new railway line and road bridge to connect the Vallarpadam island with the mainland. The subcommittee would submit its final report to the Shipping Board in December.

Most international shipping lines are also enthusiastic about a transshipment terminal at Cochin since it is ideally located to handle goods bound for the West Coast, including Karachi, and also for a sizeable amount of cargo meant for the East.

Cochin has the potential for 110,000 tonnes of transshipment traffic now. This can go up to 338,000 tonnes by 2005, given the same facilities as in Colombo.

Authorities at the Nava Sheva, near Bombay, and Madras ports are lobbying against a terminal at Cochin since they fear that once the Vallarpadam project takes shapes, it will hurt their cargo traffic.