Thursday, Feb 17, 2005
Thursday, Feb 17, 2005 |
| Kerala | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Kerala
By K.A. Martin
KOCHI, FEB. 16. The Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, T.R. Baalu, described it as an "unscheduled Onam" for the people of Kerala while the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, expressed his wish that the ceremony were held on the Vallarpadam Island. And, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, UAE, promised to make Kochi the premier gateway to South India. The foundation stone laying ceremony for the proposed International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) on the Willingdon Island on Wednesday was a mix of praise, promise and wistfulness. The Prime Minister, who unveiled a plaque at Kendrirya Vidyalaya on the Willingdon Island to mark the occasion, praised the enterprising spirit of Kerala. He recalled the old story of an astronaut discovering a Malayali on the moon. His previous visit to Kerala, he recalled, was to console the people hit by the tsunami catastrophe. The seas that delivered death and destruction on the one hand had provided a livelihood for generations of people on the other. He said the Kerala Model of Development had inspired the United Progressive Alliance Government to lay emphasis on human development and recalled how greats like Amartya Sen and K.N. Raj had drawn on the model. "Your ability to benefit from the forces of globalisation has enabled Kerala economy to prosper," he said. But cautioned that Kerala needed to travel considerable distance in modernisation of its infrastructure.
Huge savings
Mr. Baalu said Kochi is bound to succeed because it is situated on the international maritime highway. He said Indian trade would save up to Rs.6,000 crores to Rs.18,000 crores on transshipment with the Kochi facility coming into existence. He promised a total of Rs.3,053-crore investment in developing highways in the State. The money would be spent on four-laning a stretch of 643 km of National Highway that passes through the State. He said performance by Indian ports had significantly improved over the last nine months and that containerised cargo traffic was moving up substantially. He also recalled how the UPA Government was adding up to 7.5 km of road per day compared to the 2.28 km of road by the previous NDA Government. The Chief Minister said that the foundation laying ceremony would have seen larger participation from the people if it were held on Vallarpadam Island. He was sorry that the ceremony had to be shifted to the Willingdon Island for technical reasons. He said that it was the total blessings of the Prime Minister that had seen the ICTT project through to this stage. The Rs.20,000-crore investment promised by the Prime Minister on his arrival in Kerala on the previous day was the single largest investment promise the State had seen. Mr. Chandy also recalled his predecessor A.K. Antony's efforts in trying to make the ICTT a reality. The Chief Minister also said that the people of Kerala were duty-bound to respond positively to these gestures. People should wake up and realise the opportunities before them and work accordingly, he said. Mr. Chandy made a passing reference to a promise made by Dr. Manmohan Singh that he would consider favourably the State Government's plea for the revival of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT), Kerala's oldest and largest public sector company.
In big league
The Executive Chairman of Ports Customs and Free Zone said that Kochi would emerge as the premier gateway to South India and felt that the ICTT would energise growth in India. The three-way partnership among the Government of India, Cochin Port Trust and Dubai Ports International was dynamic, ambitious and strong, he said and described it as the continuation of age-old relations between two parts of the globe.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2005, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
