III. PORTS & HARBOURS
- The State with a coastline of 590 km. has seventeen minor and intermediate ports which comes under the jurisdiction of the State Government and the major port at Kochi which is under Central Government. The traffic handled in the Intermediate & Minor Ports during the period 1992 to 2000 is given the Table-3. The overall picture of port traffic is one of stagnancy.
Table - 3
Details of Traffic Handled in the intermediate
and Minor Ports during 1992-2000
1.32
Traffic through Minor & Intermediate Ports
Cochin Port
The Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam
- Cochin Port is one of the eleven major ports in India and is the only major port in Kerala. Some of the developmental initiatives which will have a direct impact on the Cochin Port are mentioned below.
Special Economic Zone
- All the Working Groups submitted their reports to the Plan Committee and these formed the basis of the discussions in the Plan Committee at its meeting held on 30/11/2001.
Rail & Road connectivity to Vallarpadam Island
- The Tenth Plan of the State is being formulated in the context of severe financial difficulties faced by the State Government. The White Paper on the State's finances brought out by the State Government highlights, as no other official document has done in recent times, the extremely severe crisis engulfing the States's finances. An already difficult situation has got further worsened by the general economic slow down and the global recession triggered by the September 11th incidents in USA. Therefore any formulation of a Plan for the sectors covered by the Plan Committee, as indeed the whole Plan of the State, has necessarily to take into account these harsh realities while estimating the capability of the State to invest in projects and programmes, however desirable they appear to be.
Tourism
- Rail and Road connectivity to the new Transhipment Terminal is also being planned. The Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) is constructing three bridges connecting the islands of Bolghatty, Vallarpadam and Vypeen to the mainland. A feasibility survey is being undertaken regarding the rail connectivity to the Vallarpadam island. A preliminary study is also being done to connect the island with the 4-lane road to the National Highways 17 and 47. It is very important to get this new 4 lane road declared as National Highway so that it can be completed with the assistance of Government of India on priority.
Industrial Environment
- In 1999-2000, Cochin Port received 34 passenger luxury cruises. The Port is
planning to develop an exclusive passenger terminal in collaboration with the State Government. Cochin Port is also exploring the possibility of converting the green belt in Vallarpadam island into an international level Golf Course. The Inland Waterways can be developed as part of a multi-model transportation system connecting the Port to jetties in different locations by inland waterways and then linking the jetties to important destinations by suitable roads. This will boost tourism industry tremendously.Inland Waterways
- Ultimately the business of the Port depends on the volume of imports and exports. Therefore the agro industrial development of Kerala will determine by the pace of development of the Port. Also the bottlenecks in the transportation sector as well as on the labour front will affect the smooth functioning of the Port. Therefore it is necessary to ensure a peaceful industrial atmosphere in the hinterlands of the Port to ensure efficient functioning of the Port..
- Government of Kerala should continuously pursue those matters which are pending with Government of India with a view to expediting the activities envisaged in those initiatives.
Intermediate and Minor Ports
- Kerala has major transportation resources which is under utilised viz. the Inland Waterways. The Inland Waterways Authority of India is completing the upgradation of Inand Waterways No.3. The Port is taking the initiative to ensure hinterland connectivity to the Port through waterways.
- As will be observed from Table 3, the volume of cargo handled through these ports is not substantial and in some, there is only a nominal cargo through out. The Plan Committee understands that there are proposals from private sector to develop new facilities such as alongside berthing etc. in some of the minor ports as well as to develop a new port in a green field site near Vizhinjam. Most of these proposals have been in the air for about five years or more and not much progress has been made, partly because of the indifference on the part of the private promoter. This emphases the need for careful selection of private developers who should be asked to demonstrate their proof of earnestness to take effective steps by committing themselves to a financial stake by way of a refundable deposit.
- Tourism industry has been growing quite fast in Kerala. Cochin Port Trust also considers this sector as quite important for the coordinated development of the Port, minor ports of Kerala, Inland water ways, State Government and the tourism industry. In the year 1999-2000, 34 passenger cruise ships came to Kerala. The Port is positioning itself as a destination for luxury cruises and trying to promote destinations which are accessible from Cochin for the tourists coming through the cruise liners.
One important minor port which can be developed in this context is Alleppey. Alleppey is connected by inland water ways as well as coastal sea route to Cochin Port. Therefore, if Alleppey port can be developed as a complementary cruise destination to Cochin, Alleppey and Cochin as well as the coastal route to Alleppey from Cochin can become short cruise options for the tourists. Alleppey has been a very important traditional port of Kerala and therefore development of Alleppey should be done highlighting its heritage value. The Ports Department also propose to set up a Maritime Academy with private participation subject to the techno-economic feasibility of the proposal, the Plan Committee would support the proposal.
- Another area which needs immediate attention is inland water ways. National Waterways No.3 is being developed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India. However, smaller water ways which connect the National Waterway 3 to other jetties further into hinterlands will also have to be developed. These jetties can be connected to important tourist destinations by road, thus providing a multi-modal tourist transportation system from the Port to important tourist destinations.
- Kerala State Maritime Development Corporation Ltd. was registered in the year 1994 and started functioning in 1995. The Dredger C.S.D.Meena Kerala C.S.D. Neendakara and D.T. Kozhikkode were taken over by the Corporation on 4/7/96. As the dredgers were old, huge amount was spent by the Corporation for the repairs of the dredgers. After repairing dredger the Corporation started dredging works in December 1994. The very purpose of forming the Corporation might have been
- to avail finance from Financial Institutions
- to undertake dredging works on a commercial basis as private sector involvement was very little with State.
But so far the Corporation has not shown satisfactory results and the Corporation is finding it difficult to survive. Repairs and renovation of the dredger itself will cost about Rs.14 cores. The rationale of having a separate Corporation has disappeared and there is a strong case for winding up the Corporation.
- Ninth Plan allocation for Ports & Harbours was Rs.3000 lakhs. Out of this Rs.1400 lakhs is for the Port Department, Rs.1400 lakhs to the Harbour Engineering Departing and Rs.200 lakhs to Hydrographic Survey Wing. The expenditure incurred by the departments during the 9th Plan period was Rs.2595.44 lakhs the details of which are given in Table-4. Capital dredging at minor ports, repair of floating crafts, purchase of equipment, improvement to workshop facilities, infrastructure development of Azheekal and Vizhinjam ports, research and development activities etc. are the programmes entrusted to the Port Department.
Table - 4
Ninth Plan outlay and Working Group's Projection for Tenth Plan
(Rs. in lakhs)
Outlay in IXth Plan (Revised)
Harbour Engineering Department
Hydrographic Survey Wing
- The Harbour Engineering Department is a specialised department in the field of marine structure engineering. The investigation and design of marine structure have changed drastically from the conventional methods due to the rapid change in the field of engineering. The department conducts investigative studies in the field of waves, fathometry, wind analysis, sea sub-soil conditions etc. At present the technical staff are not well equipped with the present day trends and changes in the field of engineering application. The Department is to be equipped with computers and other modern equipments. Due to the narrow entrance and lack of direct berthing facility the Neendakara port remained as a seasonal port. The Neendakara cargo harbour is to be provided with an additional 70 m. wharf to facilitate smooth and effective transit of cargo. Alappuzha port is also functioning as a seasonal port. Even though the port possess sufficient infrastructural facilities, lack of direct berthing facility, containerisation, disadvantage of multiple handling in the conventional method hinder the development of the port. The back water structures at Neendakara, Vinzhinjam, Munambam and Beypore need replenishment. The facilities such as transit sheds, buildings, roads, water supply, channel dredging etc. are to be undertaken to maintain the port in proper condition. The major repair works of piers at Alappuzha, Valiyathura and Kozhikkode are also to be carried out urgently. Kayamkulam port has been declared as a minor port recently.
- The Hydrographic Survey Wing conduct pre-monsoon/post monsoon surveys and pre-dredging/post dredging hydrographic surveys in the intermediate and minor ports in Kerala. The ports at Kasargod, Azheekal, Beypore, Ponnani, Kodungallur, Neendakara and Vizhinjam are proposed for dredging during the Tenth Plan. For the efficient functioning of the hydrographic surveys, introduction of electronic positioning method is necessary and the survey vessels are to be installed with Differential Global Positioning System. The Working Group recommend the implementation of port development activities with the involvement of private participation on BOOT basis and potential ports will have to be identified and developed to a threshold level to make it attractive for further investment from the private sector. The Plan Committee endorses the private joint venture activities in this area.
- The Working Group has recommended Rs.6450 lakhs as outlay for the Ports & Harbour sector. Plan Committee suggest an outlay of Rs.6000 lakhs to the Port sector. Out of this Rs.2750 lakhs is proposed for the Port Department, Rs.2935 lakhs for the Harbour Engineering Department and Rs.315 lakhs for the Hydrographic Survey Wing.