Cochin port to get ship repair facility by Dec

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) will start a ship repair and maintenance facility at Cochin port by the end of this year.

The Centre has already granted approval to the Rs 750-crore project. At the recently concluded ‘Emerging Kerala’ summit, CSL and the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) handed over the documents in this regard.

The port trust will provide around 45 acres (having 850 metre water front) of land on Willingdon Island, and the existing workshop complex, including buildings and machinery, on a lease basis to CSL. Around 230 employees of CPT will also be transferred to CSL.

With the existing facilities, CSL can commence operations by December this year, sources said.

 

The facility will be positioned as a ‘Modern Ship Repair Yard of International Standard’ for maintenance, repair and overhaul of small and medium size vessels.

Based on a detailed project report, the port had formulated a conceptual plan envisaging leasing out of its underutilised workshop complex, including the dry dock and slipway, for 30 years. It had invited global tenders for this in 2011.

Cochin Port enjoys the same locational advantage as Colombo port with a 76 nautical miles deviation from the main East- West shipping route. Thousands of ships pass through this route, and this is expected to boost the repair business. Bunkering facilities are already available at the port.

Around 1,000 ships call on Cochin port annually and this may double in the next three years, according to a study prepared by the port. This will be possible on the back of developmental projects such as LNG terminal, LPG terminal, cement handling terminals and a bulk cargo terminal being implemented in the vicinity of the port.

The International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT) is also located near the port.

Moreover, the Union Cabinet has relaxed the Cabotage policy for ICTT for three years. It is also expected that cargo traffic of the port would increase from 20 mt in 2011 to 51 mt in 2017.