 Kochi:
The Cochin Port Trust (CPT) plans to set up a globally-comparable
cruise terminal, international bunkering terminal and
international ship repairing facilities. Dr Jacob Thomas,
chairman, CPT, stated this at a press briefing in the
city.
The
port handled 18 cruise vessels last year including the
Star Princess with 2,555 passengers and a 1,115-strong
crew on board, he said in a press conference here.
The
Rs2,000-crore international container trans-shipment
terminal (ICTT) on the Vallarpadam Island is expected
to be ready by April 2008 if the central government
approves of the bid by Dubai Port International (DPI).
The
price bid by DPI, endorsed by the board of trustees
of the CPT had been submitted to the union ministry
of shipping for approval in March 2004. The CPT chairman,
pointed out that the new union minister for shipping,
T R Baalu, has said that the Vallarpadam project was
a priority, and hence he saw no hurdles to the project
taking off as scheduled.
Dr
Thomas said the reports that the port stood to lose
on account of choosing Dubai Port were aimed at delaying
the Vallarpadam project work.
The
Cochin Port Trust will petition the Centre to write
off the outstanding Rs165-crore loans and penal interest.
The financial performance of the port during the last
financial year had been marked by several successful
cost-cutting measures.
A
major achievement was shown in the reduction of dredging
expenditure over the years with innovative draft-based
dredging introduced four years ago, which had brought
down the cost of dredging significantly, Dr Thomas said.
While the expenditure on maintenance dredging was Rs39.2
crore during 1999-2000, it had been Rs27.34 crore during
the last financial year, he disclosed. This had resulted
in annual savings of Rs12 crore, a record for the port.
The
staff strength of the port had been cut to 4,328 from
5,389 thus making considerable savings on this count.
The port had also improved productivity. It logged a
container-handling record of 177 moves in a shift on
November 12 last year, crossing the previous record
of 167.
The
port has also crossed a major milestone with the completion
of Goshree bridges, due for inauguration on June 5,
this year. The CPT supervised the work on the bridges.
The proposed LNG re-gassification project planned on
Puthuvype Island by Petronet LNG will soon be a reality
if the indications are right, he said.
He
said that the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)
had shown
interest in setting up LNG receiving and gassification
facility in Kochi. Previously, NTPC had been looking
at the possibility of setting up a facility at Kayamkulam.
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