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| ICTT racing to commence operations |
| George Joseph / Chennai/ Kochi Aug 20, 2010, 00:24 IST |
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The operations at the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) here, developed by DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators, are set to commence before the end of the year, according to government sources.
It is learnt that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will officially launch the terminal in December this year. However, operations may begin before the official launch, once the road connectivity and the required draft at the channels and basin are ready.
According to sources at the Cochin Port Trust (CPT), the two-lane road connec-tivity to the terminal will be ready by November. The port is also scheduled to complete the capital dredging by next month and the work is pro-gressing in full swing. The rail connectivity to the terminal is ready and the works at the terminal site such as the main office complex and wharfs have already been completed.
The Rs 3,000-crore terminal is expected to bring in a sea change in the industrial scenario in Kerala and Karnataka. The first port-based SEZ will be set up in the vicinity of the terminal with an investment outlay of Rs 7,000 crore. Industry insiders expect investments up to Rs 1 lakh crore, in both private and public sectors, to come into the state with the commis-sioning of the terminal and the port-based SEZ.
Petronet LNG is cons-tructing its second LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal at Puthuvpe near the new port, with a capacity of 2.5 million tonnes in the first stage. The LNG terminal is scheduled to be operational by 2012.
According to a DP World release, the countdown to the opening of the terminal has begun with the arrival of four gantry cranes. The four Post Panamax quay cranes, capable of lifting two twenty-foot containers at a time, will service customers at the new terminal’s 600-metre quay and 40 hectares of yard.
A Chinese barge MV Zhenhua is at berth and the four cranes have been off-loaded, and the commission-ing process will begin soon. The offloading of the cranes had been delayed by around four weeks since the basin of the terminal did not have the required depth. The vessel which arrived in the outer sea on June 24 was able to reach the terminal only after three weeks. This delay has badly hit the commencement of operations as it was earlier decided to start operations in September.
ICTT is India’s first transhipment terminal, which is being built and will be operated by DP World with the support of the Cochin Port Trust (CPT).
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