Cochin rival drops Plan A, shifts opts for transshipment role

THE INDIAN state of Kerala, on the southern west coast, has done a U-turn on its plan to develop a terminal at Vizhinjam into a container transhipment port instead in hopes of attracting an investor to put up INR50 billion (US$1.06 billion) needed for the project.

The Kerala government has invited bids from firms to develop a multi-purpose port instead at Vizhinjam near the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, reports Livemint Wall Street Journal. They have until August 12 to submit their qualifications.

It said the port will have the capacity to load 2.4 million standard cargo containers, which is less than half the original 5.3 million containers originally planned, plus 1.8 million tonnes of bulk or general cargo annually, as well as cruise ships given that the major tourist destination of Kovalam beach is just two kilometres from Vizhinjam.

Experts say that Vizhinjam, with a depth of 18-22 metres, does not need maintenance dredging and has the potential to become India's deepest port, allowing ultra-large ships to call up to 12,000 TEU. It also helps that the port would be within 10 nautical miles of the east-west international maritime route.

The problem is that by the time the terminal is built in three to four years, India's first container transhipment terminal at Vallarpadam in the government-owned Cochin Port would already have been opened since September 2010.

In view of the fact that Vizhinjam would be located a few nautical miles apart from its rival, the concept was amended to enable Vizhinjam to be developed as a multi-purpose port.

However, an executive at a Mumbai-based infrastructure advisory firm that was involved in the previous auctions to attract private investors to the port said there is no scope for a regular port at Vizhinjam, located at the southern-most tip of India.

"There is no hinterland (cargo generating and consuming area) at Vizhinjam and the port lacks sufficient land," he was quoted as saying, asking not to be named. What's more cruise ports don't require huge investments and deep-water depths to call.

"Vizhinjam is best suited for a container transhipment port because such ports are not dependent on hinterland or local cargo for their success," he said. "If the Kerala government is now trying to market Vizhinjam as a multi-purpose port, they are losing focus."
(Source:www.schednet.com)