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Tenders for building road from ICTT to NH to be invited soon: CPT chief

Staff Reporter

Kochi Refineries Ltd. keen on stake in bunkering terminal

KOCHI: Tenders for building a road link between the proposed International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) and National Highway No. 47 at Kalamassery is scheduled to be invited in October this year. Land acquisition for the project is on the fast track and will be completed soon.

Report for the rail link for the proposed ICTT is expected by August 20 from the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, said the Cochin Port Trust Chairman (CPT) Jacob Thomas here on Sunday.

He was speaking to reporters after a brief ceremony during which the Port Trust officially handed over 70 hectares of land to Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL) for setting up the single buoy mooring (SBM) facility off the coast of Puthuvype Island.

Ship repair facility

Dr. Jacob Thomas, whose tenure at the Port Trust ended on Sunday, said that KRL had evinced interest in the proposed bunkering terminal, one of the key components of the expansion and development of the port area that will comprise a special economic zone and a ship repair facility among others.

The Port Trust chairman said that the KRL having been associated with the Port for such a long time had a big advantage in the process of getting a share in the proposed bunkering facility.

Dr. Jacob Thomas said that the Port's idea was the minimum number of people should be affected by both the rail and road projects that will link ICTT site on Vallarpadam Island to the National Highway and the mainland railhead, probably at Edappally.

He said that the Port was also committed to its social obligations.

Besides a modern fish landing facility on Vallarpadam Island, the Port considered the idea of providing drinking water from the proposed desalination plant to the people who will be affected by the port's projects.

He said that once the desalination plant met the water requirements for the bunkering facility, water could be supplied to the people in the neighbouring areas.

Notification for the port-based special economic zone is expected by the first half of August, he added. The Port Trust Chairman also expressed optimism that work on the proposed LNG terminal project could be inaugurated in November this year.

He said that the Port Trust was moving with that schedule in mind.

Global tender

He said that the Mumbai Port Trust was about to float a global tender to choose a consultant on infrastructure requirements for a cruise circuit that would comprise the ports of Mumbai, Goa, New Mangalore and Kochi.

In the meanwhile, CPT had submitted a Rs. 42-crore project for setting up a cruise tour handling facility here.

The Union Government is expected to provide about Rs. 10 crore for the project while the rest of the money would come from a consortium that would comprise also private players in the tourism sector besides the State Tourism Department.

Cruise ship's visit

In a major boost to the cruise business at Kochi, Queen Mary II, the largest cruise vessel with 3,000 tourists on board, is expected to call at Kochi in March next year. Dr. Jacob Thomas also said that at a meeting of port officials in Delhi recently it was mooted that a separate entity could be floated to handle the cruise business. The entity could comprise Tourism Departments of the various port States and also the Union Government.

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