The Hindu Business Line : Kochi port gets Rs 32 cr for dedicated Lakshadweep terminal

Kochi, June 19 The Union Government has sanctioned Rs 32crore for the construction of a dedicated terminal at the Kochi port for Lakshadweep-bound passenger and cargo ships.

Construction of the terminal will be carried out by the port trust as a deposit work and the tenders will be invited within one month.

The project is expected to be completed by 2011. The Kochi port has entered into an MoU with the Lakshadweep Administration for the leasing of land and water frontage area to construct the terminal, port officials said.

Five hectares has already been earmarked in the port area (on the western side of Willingdon Island, between south coal berth and the workshop jetty) for this purpose.

The proposed terminal will have a 300 m berth, passenger waiting hall of about 1,100 sq m, cargo storage area of about 400 sq m and a vehicle parking area. The terminal will have facilities such as prayer halls, bank counters, a tourist information counter, a first-aid centre, and a snack bar.

About 10 passenger ships and several other cargo vessels are plying between Lakshadweep Islands and Kochi and now these vessels are get different berths in the absence of an exclusive facility.

The dedicated terminal will be a boon for the Lakshadweep islanders who have to depend upon the mainland, which is almost 300 km away, for higher education, medi-care, provisions, fuel, consumer goods, etc.

The port has, therefore, decided to accord topmost priority to construct the Lakshadweep Jetty and related facilities. Kochi is the main embarkation/disembarkation for passengers and tourists to and from Lakshadweep.

A dedicated berthing facility was necessitated because of the delays in departures at Kochi. This is due to non-availability of berth and lack of loading and unloading facilities.

Since the Lakshadweep-bound vessels are accommodated at cargo berths, often embarkation/disembarkation get delayed for hours causing hardships to passengers.

The Lakshadweep Administration had earlier entrusted a consultancy firm, KITCO, to prepare a feasibility study for the construction of the berth .