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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the revised proposal for time bound implementation of the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) in Cochin Port on build operate and transfer (BOT) basis. The contract for the project will be awarded to Dubai Ports International, Dubai, UAE (DPI).
The firm, DPI, will initially takeover the existing Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal for further development and operation till the ICTT becomes operational. The period of license for the ICTT is 30 years. The Government will also take necessary steps to ensure provision of common user infrastructure facilities namely, rail and road connectivity and adequate depth in the navigational channels for the terminal.
Investment in the project to be developed in phases, by the BOT operator, will be about Rs.2118 crore. On completion of the project, the terminal will have facilities to handle 3 million TEUs (twenty feet equivalent units). Vessels upto size 8000 TEUs will be handled in the terminal. This project has a special significance as presently around half of the containers with origin from and destination to India are transshipped at ports outside the country mainly at Colombo, Singapore, etc. The development of ICTT will fulfill India’s long felt need for creating port facilities for transshipping of cargo on the Indian coast and also tapping the potential for such transshipment in this region.
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