The Hindu Business Line : Transhipment terminal at Kochi cleared

THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved a revised proposal for setting up the Rs 2,118-crore international container transhipment terminal (ICTT) at Kochi port.

The contract for the project, to be implemented on a `build-operate-transfer' (BOT) basis, will be awarded to Dubai Ports International, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, told newspersons after the meeting of the CCEA.

"The development of the ICTT will fulfil India's long-felt need for creating port facilities for tapping the potential for transhipment in the region," Mr Chidambaram said.

The project is significant as currently, around half of the containers at Indian ports are transhipped at ports outside the country, mainly Colombo and Singapore, he said.

On completion of the project, the terminal will have a capacity to handle three million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). Vessels up to the size of 8,000 TEUs will be handled at the terminal.

Dubai Ports International had bagged the bid, offering 33.33 per cent revenue to the government. However, it now wanted to scale down revenue-sharing to 25 per cent for the first few years.

As per the revised schedule, the company has been allowed to pay 25 per cent of revenue to the government for the first eight years and the remainder with interest from the ninth year, Mr Chidambaram said.

The concession period for the project spans 30 years. Dubai Ports International will initially take over the existing Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal for further development and operation till the terminal becomes functional, an official release here said.

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