PM inaugurates mega transhipment terminal in Kerala
February 11th, 2011 - 12:53 pm ICT by IANS
Kochi, Feb 11 (IANS) 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.
- PM to open container terminal in Kerala - Feb 06, 2011
- Manmohan Singh to inaugurate Kochi international container terminal tomorrow - Feb 10, 2011
- PM to inaugurate Kochi international container terminal - Feb 11, 2011
- Vallarpadam ICTT to be commissioned in August - May 25, 2010
- Manmohan Singh to dedicate new Kerala port to nation on Feb.11 - Feb 07, 2011
- Prime Minister to inaugurate Vallarpadam container terminal on February 11 - Feb 06, 2011
- Kochi now connected to Europe by ship - Nov 14, 2011
- Dubai World's default won't hit us: Kochi port chief - Nov 27, 2009
- Kochi connected to China via weekly cargo vessel - Dec 19, 2011
- India's longest railway bridge nearing completion at Kochi - Jul 18, 2009
- DP World seeks close trade ties with India - Oct 14, 2011
- Vallarpadam container terminal to be commissioned in 2010's first quarter - Oct 10, 2009
- Gantries reach Kochi port after three-week wait - Jul 16, 2010
- Mega container terminal for Chennai port approved - Oct 12, 2010
- Kerala not done enough to draw private investment: Chidambaram - Feb 12, 2011
Tags: asian neighbours, attractive investment, cochin port trust, container terminal, dpw, exports and imports, global tender, gross revenue, international container, investment area, kochi, manmohan, manmohan singh, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, private public partnership, revenue share, transhipment hub, transshipment, v s achuthanandan