The maritime gateway to peninsular India, Cochin Port is one of the major ports in the south coast of India. Cochin Port has a geo-strategical position among major ports along the west coast of India. With deep draft alongside berth and modern cargo handling equipment and container terminal, Cochin Port is fast emerging as a major international transshipment terminal. AV Ramana, Deputy Chairman, Cochin Port Trust speaks to Rashmi Pradhan on the performance of the port last year and developments in the pipeline.
How was the performance of Cochin Port last year? The port registered an operating income of Rs 496.22 crore for 2016-17. During 2015-16, the port handled a total traffic of 22.10 million tonnes. The traffic during 2016-17 was 25.01 million tonnes and expected to reach 30 million tonnes by next year. Of the total cargo received at Cochin Port, 63 percent was POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants), 28 percent was containers; 9 percent was a combination of break bulk, dry bulk and bulk. The POL handled during 2016-17 was 15.7 million tonnes and is expected to increase with commissioning of IREP (Integrated Refinery Expansion Project) of BPCL which would enhance the capacity of refinery from 9.5 million tonnes to 15.5 million tonnes from next fiscal year. This will also help the port to generate additional revenue. The total number of containers handled during 2015-16 was 4.2 lakh TEUs and 4.9 lakh TEUs during 2016-17.
From September last year, the coastal car carriers have started calling at Cochin Port. These car carriers offload 300-400 cars that are being sold in Kerala. The port has offered 80 percent rebate in port charges towards attracting the business. This arrangement ultimately benefits the end user a minimum of Rs 3,000. For handling of bunkers, a barge jetty is under construction which will be operational by October this year. This barge jetty is being constructed at a cost of Rs 34.57 crore. The Cochin Port offers clean and pure bunker and is a preferred destination in India. Besides cargo, Cochin Port also facilitates cruise berthing. Please give more details. Cochin Port aims at being a major cruise destination and a gateway to Kerala. Cochin Port has a dedicated Cruise Cell available round-the-clock to service the requirements of the cruise vessels. The port has an international cruise terminal with facilities such as air conditioned passenger lounge, customs and immigration counters, luggage counter alongside cruise jetty at NCB berth. The total number of cruise vessels that called at the port during 2015-16 was 33 and 44 vessels during 2016-17. The cruiseliner has a capacity of 3,000 passengers and this in turn helps the local economy. The current terminal at Willingdon Island has length alongside of 270 metre. In addition, we are coming up with a new cruise terminal at Ernakulam. The new terminal will have 350 metre plus length alongside. The new terminal will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore and will be operational by the end of 2018. Please elaborate on the projects in the pipeline at Cochin Port. There are many ongoing projects, the Port has envisaged development of an outer harbour at an estimated cost of Rs 3,050 crore when developed will reduce the siltation and erosion apart from providing additional land to the port for operations. Viability study is in progress and once state and central governments approve the project it should be ready for operation by 2020-21. We have earmarked 135 acres for development of smart industrial port city at Wellingdon Island at an estimated investment of Rs 10 crore. The smart city will have hospitality zone, Free Trade Warehouse Zone, logistics park etc. The city will be divided into zones and will undergo e-auction procedure as per the government of India regulations through MSTC. The land will be given on lease for a period of 30 years. This will help to increase employment and also throughput of the port.