Cochin Port officials meet Kerela CM on pipeline project issue

Top officials of the Cochin Port Trust met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and sought his intervention to resolve issues related to land acquisition for completing the multi-crore natural gas pipeline project in the state.
Noting that a failure to do so may put the loss-making Cochin Port in deep stress, the Chairman of the port, G Senthilvel said the time-bound completion of pipeline project will help the Port come out of its losses.
"Senthilvel has requested the Chief Minister to resolve the pipeline issue for the LNG terminal as the terminal constructed at cost of Rs 4,000 crore is operating only at 8 per cent capacity and the under utilisation is affecting the Cochin Port Trust's revenues," a Cochin Port Trust said in a release.

"With the pipeline connectivity to Mangalore (via Thrissur, Malappuram) and Bangalore (via Palakkad), the port will earn an additional Rs 100 crore which will make it come out of its losses and will make profit," it said.
He also informed Vijayan that if the project is completed, the state government will also earn revenue through VAT.
"The Chief Minister has assured full support of the state government to resolve the pipeline issues of the LNG terminal as it is one of their priority," the release added.

He meeting took place at the CM office in Thiruvananthapuram along with senior Port Trust officials Unnikrishnan Nair and G Vaidyanathan on June 10.

The meeting came a week after Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, urged the new LDF government in Kerala to complete land acquisition for the natural gas pipeline project, adding that failure to do so may lead to closure of the loss-making Cochin Port.
"I am requesting the Chief Minister and people of Kerala that if the line is not completed, then it is a big loss for the Cochin Port. If we complete the line, we will get a profit of more than Rs 150 crore," Gadkari had told reporters here from Mumbai via video conferencing.

"Today we are in loss. If this situation goes on...If the state government cannot cooperate in completing the gas pipeline project, then we will have to think about closing the Cochin Port," he had said.
The pipeline project envisages connecting the Petronet LNG terminal at Puthuvype in Kochi to the northern part of Kerala, from where two separate lines are to join it from Mangaluru and Bengaluru.