Cochin Port
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Cochin Port is a major port on the Arabian sea - Indian Ocean sea-route and is one of the largest ports in India. The port lies on two islands in the Lake of Kochi namely the Willingdon Island and Vallarpadam, towards the Fort Kochi river-mouth opening onto the Arabian sea. The Vallarpadam International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT), a part of the Cochin Port, is the largest container trans-shipment facility in India. The port is governed by the Cochin Port Trust, an establishment of the Government of India. The modern port was established in 1926.
In January 2014 India's Adani Group obtained government clearance to build a coal terminal at Cochin Port with a projected annual capacity of nearly 5 million tonnes.[1] However in October 2014 the project was reported as shelved.[2]
Contents
Background
The Cochin Port is one among a line of maritime-related facilities based in the port-city of Kochi, the others being, the Cochin Shipyard, the largest ship-building as well as maintenance facility in India, the SPM (Single Point Mooring facility) of the Kochi Refineries - an offshore crude carrier mooring facility, and the Kochi Marina.
During the 2007-2008 shipping season, the Port of Cochin handled a total 855 thousand tons of dry bulk cargoes, including 246 thousand tons of coal.[3]
Proposed coal terminal
In September 2013, Cochin Port Trust announced that it was accepting bids for development of a modern, "eco-friendly" coal terminal that would combine the existing north and south coal berths at the port's Mattancherry Wharf. The terminal, with an estimated annual capacity of 5 million tons, would be aimed at importing coal for the steel and cement industries of Kerala and other southern Indian states.[4]
In January 2014, India's Ministry of Shipping announced that it would award a contract for the R$2 billion (approximately US$30 million) project to the Adani Group, which was reportedly the only company to have submitted a bid. According to the terms of the agreement, the Adani Group will be able to operate the new port facility for 30 years before transferring it to the Indian government under the BOT (build operate transfer) model.[1]
However in October 2014 it was reported that the Cochin Port Trust had shelved plans to set up a coal handling terminal at the port, as no companies had expressed interest.[2] It is unclear if Adani walked away from the project.
Project Details
- Operator: Cochin Port Trust
- Location: Kerala, India
- Annual Capacity (Tonnes): 0.3 million
- Proposed Annual Capacity (Tonnes): 4.25 million
- Status: Expansion plans cancelled
- Type: Imports
- Coal source:
- Cost of expansion: US$30 million
- Funding for expansion:
Articles and Resources
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Central govt clears tender for Cochin Port's new coal terminal" The Times of India, January 9, 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Babu K Peter, "CPT Shelves Plan to Set up Green Coal Handling Terminal," Indian Express, 21 October 2014
- ↑ "Port of Cochin" World Port Source, accessed October 7, 2011.
- ↑ "Cochin Port Trust to set up eco-friendly coal terminal" The Times of India, September 8, 2013.
Related SourceWatch Articles
External Articles
Wikipedia also has an article on Cochin Port. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.
