Developments on Vallarpadam International Container Terminal

Q: Hi there, my name is David. I wanted to know more about the developments that are going on in the direction of the Vallarpadam International Container terminal at vallarpadam. Can you share some info with me?

David Oomen Mathews, Kochi

18th March 2015

Real estate News in Kochi

kochi development

kochi growth

kochi realty updates

kochi infrastructure development

kochi investment

kochi real estate news 2015

kochi development authority

kochi vallarpadam international terminal

Follow Discussion

Also see discussions for

Kochi Real estate News Real estate News in Kochi

Replies (24)

But I am really hopeful of Vallarpadam International terminal about handling higher volumes in the coming months. This year, India, and particularly the Vallarpadam Terminal, will be the focus area for the company. I am really expecting this.

Suneel Chakyar, Kochi

31st March 2015

Comment

One thing I have to say about the cochin port. It is also one of the costliest in the country. Terminal handling charges are about ₹6,000 for a 20-foot container. In the neighbouring VO Chidambaranar (formerly Tuticorin) Port, it is almost half at ₹3,500. But, now, Cochin Port is helpless as the tariff is fixed by TAMP.

Kunal Pillai, Kochi

30th March 2015

Comment

But actually that was the time when the damage had been done. Cargo remained elusive for the Terminal. The flow of containers from traditional centres like Tirupur, Coimbatore, Salem, Pollachi and Bengaluru has been slowing down.

Vijaykrishna Nayar, Kochi

30th March 2015

Comment

Hmm..and then, i would like to add that finally it took the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office to resolve the dispute. The Customs office has now streamlined the procedure and shortened the clearance time for cargo to less than three days.

Abraham D'souza, Kochi

30th March 2015

Comment

I know one such case. In that case, Customs officials forced a shipper to unload export containers from a ship that was ready to sail. The Terminal then became a victim of ego clashes between officials from two departments, and it is yet to recover fully from the damage inflicted on it.

Austen D'silva, Kochi

30th March 2015

Comment

That is true. Though the terminal enjoys SEZ status, the Customs office insisted on examining transhipment containers arriving from other Indian ports despite approvals obtained at their origin port. SEZ authorities objected.

Robert Almeida, Kochi

29th March 2015

Comment

Oh..that's not the only thing that is going on with the vallarpadam container. The worst of these was a dispute between Customs officials and Special Economic Zone authorities over jurisdictional control.

Rajesh Menon, Kochi

29th March 2015

Comment

I think from the start itself vallarpadam had some minor issues. Vallarpadam faced rough weather from Day One. It was commissioned before dredging was completed and the draft (water depth) limitation delayed the arrival of larger vessels. When the vessels did arrive, other problems cropped up.

Rajesh Menon, Kochi

29th March 2015

Comment

Exactly,...This dichotomy has resulted in discriminatory regulation. Government-controlled ports such as the Cochin Port Trust are regulated by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP), whereas private ports can fix their own tariff.

Maria Nair, Kochi

28th March 2015

Comment

Do you know one thing. More than two decades after India launched economic reforms, its ports remain governed by anachronistic laws. Centre-owned major ports are governed by the Major Ports Act of 1963. Private or ‘non-major’ ports, on the other hand, are administered by States under the Indian Ports Act of 1908.

Simon Benedict, Kochi

28th March 2015

Comment

But Vallarpadam’s woes are only getting worse. The Centre is now helping the Kerala Government develop a much bigger transhipment terminal at Vizhinjam, near capital Thiruvanathapuram. Already hit by low volumes, I dont think that Vallarpadam terminal survive competition in its own neighbourhood.

Allen George, Kochi

27th March 2015

Comment

You know, nothing happened after that. the Vallarpadam terminal hardly handles any transhipment cargo. International shipping lines see no incentive in calling here. “Colombo is well-established as a transhipment hub. It recently expanded capacity with Chinese investment. To compete with Colombo, Vallarpadam has to match its cost, as well as facilities.

Deepak Shetty, Kochi

27th March 2015

Comment

Wasn't there a rearguard attempt two years ago by the the Government. They granted the ICTT a Cabotage exemption, which permits foreign lines to operate feeder service between Vallarpadam and any other port in India. This was expected to attract mother vessels bringing containers from other ports. But, did anything happen after that?

Krishna gowda, Kochi

26th March 2015

Comment

I really agree with you. Rather than turning around the loss-making Cochin Port, the new terminal has further weakened it. Continuing its losing streak for the sixth year, the port, after reporting a ₹107.81-crore loss in the 2014 fiscal, is expected to report a marginally lower loss of about ₹100 crore in the current fiscal.

Krishna gowda, Kochi

26th March 2015

Comment

Oh yeah..that is really true. Now the situation is quite pathetic. The ₹3,500-crore terminal is struggling for survival as it is working 40 per cent below capacity. It handles about 3.5 lakh TEU (20-foot containers) of cargo, marginally up from 3.12 lakh TEUs in 2011 and way below the 5.5 lakh TEUs it needs to break even.

Krishna gowda, Kochi

24th March 2015

Comment

This was really a dream project. This project was expected to reduce the freight cost as well as the transit time for Indian shippers as 40 per cent of the Indian international cargo is being transhipped through foreign ports. The ICTT is operated by the Dubai-based DP World under a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with the Cochin Port Trust.

Ganesh Nambiar, Kochi

23rd March 2015

Comment

Yeah..but, I came to know that until 2011, Cochin Port’s Rajiv Gandhi Terminal was handling such cargo. The Vallarpadam terminal was expected to bring back India international cargo that otherwise was being transhipped from ports in Colombo or Dubai .

Rajneesh Nambeesan, Kochi

22nd March 2015

Comment

Located in Vallarpadam, a scenic island on the Vembanad Lake, the container terminal was the country’s first international transhipment hub. At a container transhipment terminal, smaller feeder vessels bring cargos for loading onto a larger ‘mother’ ship, creating economies of scale and lowering the freight cost. But, right now, this is laying idle.

Aadesh Chacko, Kochi

21st March 2015

Comment

If the lack of progress there is anything to go by, it’s abundantly clear that mere policy-tweaking on paper is not the solution. So long as the vallarpadam terminal is remote-controlled by New Delhi, and their tariffs regulated by official diktats rather than market conditions, they will remain laggards — losing business and stagnating,

Sreekutty Nair, Kochi

20th March 2015

Comment

Actually, i dont think this is a good move. The reality is a little different. Corporatisation of ports was mooted more than a decade ago, and much water has flowed under that bridge. Official apathy and poor work ethic remain the hallmark of the public-sector ports.

Vineet David, Kochi

20th March 2015

Comment

Yeah..that is true. In 2014, Harbour police recorded 20 such offences and four more cases were registered in 2015. Offenders had to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 in each case. I think that the proposed thing is a brilliant plan by the government, especially in the case of the Vallarpadam terminal.

Micheal George, Kochi

19th March 2015

Comment

Actually, i think private ports have proved that ports can be an attractive investment possibility. This will also enable public sector ports to attract private investments and leverage their huge unutilised land resources, they will be encouraged to become companies.

Krishnan Nair, Kochi

19th March 2015

Comment

I think there was a discussions about the container in the centre. In February, as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley outlined his vision for the Indian port sector in his Union Budget speech, there were nods of approval in the industry. Jaitley said the Government would encourage public sector ports to corporatise.

Rajeev Narayanan, Kochi

18th March 2015

Comment

Actually, you know, from being hailed as a milestone, the Vallarpadam International Container Terminal has turned into everything that is wrong with the Indian port sector. There is a grave situation that is going on as the international container is lying idle now.

Ayesha Bibi, Kochi

18th March 2015

Comment