The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Work begins on container terminal

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Tuesday, Dec 04, 2007
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Work begins on container terminal

Staff Reporter

First phase of Vallarpadam project will be completed in 24 months

Photo: Vipinchandran

Traditional start: Babu Paul, former Chairman, Cochin Port Trust, lights the lamp to mark the beginning of the work on the International Container Transhipment Terminal project in Kochi on Monday. —

kochi: Work on the Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) had an auspicious start here on Monday with a ‘bhoomi puja’ attended by nearly a 1,000 people. The terminal builder Dubai Ports World (DP World) reiterated its commitment to commission the first phase of the project in tandem with the completion of the critical road and rail links to the project site.

Ganesh Raj, Senior Vice-President of DP World told reporters that the first phase of the project was expected to be completed in 24 months. The ICTT project will cost around $450 million of which $150 million will go into civil works for the first phase.

Major change

Mr. Ganesh Raj said this project was capable of changing entirely India’s maritime business. “We are putting Kochi back on the maritime business map,” he said referring also to the fact that Kochi port was the first in the country to handle containerised cargo.

However, he said that building infrastructure was one thing and running it efficiently another. What is needed is 24-hour service so that customers are provided the best service.

He said that India was not new to port privatisation. The first port service to be privatised was Nhava Sheva and each port had a unique set of opportunities. Kochi had a very supportive port management and DP World was not worried about the volume of business at the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal, said Mr. Ganesh Raj.

A.N. Basu, Vice-President of Simplex Infrastructures Limited, which won the contract for completing the civil works, said their work would be completed on time. The project was in its mobilisation stage.

Dinesh Mani, V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, K. V. Thomas and K. Babu, MLAs, Mayor of the Corporation Mercy Williams, Deputy Mayor C. K. Manishankar, District panchayat president P. S. Shyla, District Collector A. P. M. Mohammed Hanish, Chairman of Cochin Port Trust N. Ramachandran and officials from the Port, former Chairman of Cochin Port Trust Babu Paul and Manoj Abraham, City Police Commissioner attended the ‘bhoomi puja.’

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