Updates

Cruise Terminal gets nod

Govt lines up Rs 5,000 crore port expansion projects this fiscal
20 May, 2008, 0139 hrs IST,Gunjan Pradhan Sinha, TNN

NEW DELHI: The ministry of shipping is launching 10 major expansion projects in 2008-09 at an estimated investment of Rs 5,000 crore.

The slew of projects planned for the current fiscal is in contrast with the previous years. Earlier, only one or two projects were commissioned every year. All projects in the pipeline will now be commissioned on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis and will have both public and private participation.

Expansion projects are being taken up at eight major ports — Paradip, Vizag, Chennai, Tuticorn, Cochin, New Mangalore, Goa and Kandla — in 2008-09.

Two separate cargo terminals are to be developed at Vizag for liquid and bulk cargo. An international cruise terminal at Kochi, a multi-purpose cargo berth at Kandla and a bulk cargo berth at Goa are also on the cards. At Tuticorn, berth number 8 will be converted into a container terminal. Full story

Dredging for Vallarpadam gets nod

CPT is buying a dredger to carry out the capital
dredging for Vallarpadam. This will enable
Vallarpadam to receive the biggest of the
container vessels present today. As the phase I
is commissioned the draft will be increased to
17 metres. The maintainence dredging costs at
Kochi is not big and keeps decreasing year on year
helping Vallarapadam and its future expansions
to be an all weather all generation transhipment
port.

Possible solace for Port Trust’s dredging worries

Staff Reporter

PIB recommends Rs.297-crore grant

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Cabinet committee has to approve recommendation

Bids were cancelled after allegation of cartel formation

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KOCHI: The Public Investment Board, which considers proposals of Union Ministries for public sector undertakings, has recommended a grant of Rs.297 crore and a loan of Rs.83 crore for the Cochin Port Trust’s dredging operations linked to the establishment of the international container transhipment terminal (ICTT) on the Vallarpadam island. The recommendation has to be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs before the Port Trust gets the money for meeting one of its key commitments to establishing India’s first greenfield container transhipment facility. According to Port Trust sources, the recommendation was made after the Port Trust approached the Union government with an appeal for help for establishing a draft of 14.5 metres. Full story

More initiatives

Kochi already has a cricket academy funded by
Muthoot group. Now this one, underlines Kochi's
growth through private initiatives without
gobbling up govt's money. In fact govt must try
to support these. Govt must immediately hand
over the land for the int'l cricket stadium that
BCCI has identified.

Sports academy for girls in Kerala

May 20

Kerala, home of renowned sports stars like sprint queen P T Usha and fast bowler S Sreesanth, is all set to have an exclusive sports academy for girls at the sleepy town of Kumbalam near Kochi, to train sportswomen to attain Olympic standards.
Promoted by an NRI businessman working in Russia, the 'Anjali Sports Academy', planned to be launched in June this year, would begin by training handball players from the state, B Rajan, Vice President, All India Handball Association, who is behind the project, said in Kochi.
Former Russian Olympian and Ukraine national handball team coach Alexi Poppavich will be the coach of the academy. The duration of the coaching will be four years.
Full story