Vallarpadam container terminal to be commissioned in December

The Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) is scheduled for commissioning in December 2009. Construction work of the terminal is in progress and is scheduled to be completed by 30 November 2009, shipping minister G K Vasan informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said rail connectivity to the ICTT at Vallarpadam is being implemented by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and the national highway connectivity is being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

Vasan said the ministry of shipping proposed to take up 276 port development projects under the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP), which will be implemented over a period up to 2011-12. These cover the entire gamut of activities, including construction/upgradation of berths, deepening of channels, rail/road connectivity projects, equipment upgradation/modernisation schemes and other related schemes for creation of back-up facilities in the major ports.

The ports covered under the NMDP projects include Kolkata, Haldia, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Ennore, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla. These projects together will involve an expenditure of over Rs55,803 crore, the minister said.

The government also has taken up various other port-related projects under the public-private partnership scheme, the minister said. These include: the construction of a multipurpose berth 4A and the allotment of multipurpose berth No 12 at a cot of Rs25.8 crore, both for the Kolkata Port Trust; construction of a captive coal berth for IFFCO at the Paradip Port, at a cost of Rs26.17 crore; setting up a container terminal on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis, including supply, installation and operation of container handling equipment at multipurpose berth at outer harbour at Visakhapatnam Port, at a cost of around Rs94.5 crore; construction and licensing out equipping operation, management and maintenance of two multipurpose berths EQ8 and EQ9 in the northern arm of inner harbour at Visakhapatnam Port Trust on BOT basis, involving an investment of Rs317 crore; building a 600-metre container terminal at Chennai port stage-I at a cost of around Rs470 crore; constructing a 285-metre container terminal at Chennai port at a cost of Rs100 crore; construction of crude oil handling facility for BPCL Kochi Refinery (Formerly KRL ) at Cohin port at a cost of Rs720 crore; construction of a two-berth container terminal (NSICT) for JNPT at cost of Rs975 crore; construction of Rs200-crore liquid cargo terminal at JNPT; redevelopment of bulk terminal at JNPT into a container terminal, at a cost of Rs 900 crore; building a Rs750-crore oil jetty at Vadinar for Essar at Kandla port; development and operation of a Rs223 crore container terminal at Kandla Port; construction of an oil jetty for IOC at Kandla Port involving an expenditure of over Rs20 crore as also the development of a container freight station at Kandla Port at an expenditure of Rs41.07 crore.

The minister said the current global recession has affected the working of some major ports in the country, including Visakhapatnam port. The growth rate of traffic handled at major ports has come down to 2.13 per cent during 2008-09 as compared to 11.97 per cent during 2007-08. Similarly, the growth of the traffic at Visakhapatnam during 2008-09 was a negative 1.07 (-) compared to 14.56 per cent growth recorded during 2007-08.

Iron ore traffic, which is mainly for export, recorded a growth of 2.3 per cent in 2008-09 compared to 14.2 per cent in 2007-08. Cargo growth in crude and petroleum was modest at 3.3 per cent during 2008-09 compared with 10.0 per cent in the same period last year. Container traffic, which largely reflects trade in manufactures and components, showed a marginal growth of 0.9 per cent in 2008-09 compared with a robust increase of 25.6 per cent in 2007-08. Major impact of recession was noticed in certain commodities, he said.