Cochin port signs MoU for ro-ro facility

The Cochin Port Trust (CPT) and Inland Waterway Authority of India (IWAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding for operating ro-ro/lo-lo (roll on-roll off/lift on-lift off) barge service for transportation of containers between Willingdon and Vallarpadam islands at the port.

Modern inland waterway terminals were being set up at Willingdon and Bolghatty to facilitate the service, a CPT release said. This will help link all the 11 National Waterway-3 terminals from Kollam to Kottappuram with the new port logistic chain leading to the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal. The MoU was signed in Noida on Thursday by SP Gaur, chairman, IWAI, and N Ramachandran, chairman, Cochin Port Trust.

CPT will provide the required land for jetties and parking yards at the two terminals. The IWAI will finance the construction of the terminals comprising the jetties, parking yards and road connectivity to the terminals. The modern terminals would cater to both ro-ro and lo-lo vessels at the same time to optimise time of operation and enhance transfer capacity of containers between Vallarpadam and Willingdon islands. The terminals will be equipped with container cranes to service the lo-lo barges. The design and construction of the jetties have been undertaken by CPT for which Rs 16.63 crore has been granted by IWAI.

Linking the NW3 with the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal will facilitate economic and eco-friendly transportation for the export and import from various parts of Kerala through the inland waterway terminals. The IWAI will maintain adequate depth along the NW3 channel for safe navigation of the container barges. It is expected that two million tonnes of cargo will be moved through NW3 in the first year of operation after the two new terminals at the Cochin Port are commissioned, the release said.