The Hindu Business Line : KSINC charts an action-packed course

THE Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), a state government undertaking, is gearing up to meet huge tourist inflows during the Onam season with several packages for inland cruises.

This festival season will see KSINC involve in the tourism sector in a big way, says Mr K.N. Satheesh, Managing Director.

KSINC plans to introduce an `Onam Sadya' on its backwater cruise vessel, Sagara Rani, alongside various art forms, he says. The vessel is now receiving a facelift to match the festive mood and meet tourist expectations.

While Sagara Rani will be used to attract both domestic and international tourists, another vessel Ashtamudi is being readied for operation within a couple of months. The company has also introduced boats for sightseeing in and around Kochi, covering Bolghatty Palace, Mattanchery, Fort Kochi etc.

Boat-building

As part of its diversification efforts, KSINC has bagged an order for the construction of two steel `boat-hotels' for the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. With this KSINC hopes to enter boat construction in a major way.

The company recently bagged a contract for the construction of a two-bedroom wooden houseboat for the Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd in Karnataka. The houseboat will be delivered in December this year.

KSINC recently built five fibreglass patrol boats for the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for operation in the Hooghly river in Kolkata. Each boat cost around Rs 15 lakh.

Another patrol boat, Harbour Patrol, was delivered to Cochin Port Trust recently. Work is nearing completion on two seagoing steel boats, with 150 seating each, for operation at Kanyakumari by a Chennai-based company .

A catamaran-type boat, Pathiramanal, with several air-conditioned bedrooms and other amenities, is receiving a facelift.

Healthy bottomline

The diversification is yielding results as evident from the company's financial performance in the last few years. Last financial year, KSINC made Rs 75 lakh profit and its turnover exceeded Rs 10 crore. It has now set a turnover target of Rs 15 crore for the next financial year.

KSINC is also facilitating the start of a tourist submarine service in the sea off Kochi, in association with a private firm. This kind of service would be a first for the country. The submarine's construction is nearing completion in Finland and is expected to arrive in Kochi this month-end.

Alternative means of transport

Mr Satheesh says the company's main objective is to operate in the inland water transport sector and promote it as an alternative mode to move bulk cargo.

The company transports more than 7 lakh tonnes of cargo per annum, which is possibly the largest in this sector anywhere in India.

It has also ventured into construction of passenger boats in steel, fibreglass and wood, in addition to maintenance work on marine vessels.

Last financial year, the company supplied 11 steel passenger boats and three fibreglass boats to the State Water Transport Department. Another nine fibreglass boats, with 100 seating each, will be delivered within a few months. The company also bagged an order for eight fibreglass boats and six steel boats from the State Water Transport Department, to be delivered this fiscal. It also proposes to build two 600-tonne capacity steel barges to augment the public sector FACT's capacity for transporting bulk raw material. The decision was taken in the face of stiff competition from private entrepreneurs.

Bigger barges exceeding 500-tonne capacity are considered more viable and recent developments in the waterways also support this view.

The Kochi region is strategically close to Cochin Port and there is good potential for cargo movement up to Kollam along the West Coast Canal.

National waterways

Inland water transport is considered the most fuel efficient, economical and environment friendly. Most developing countries now accord greater importance to this sector. The Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) has asked the Centre to accord highest priority to inland water transport on the lines of the National Highway Development Programme and empower the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to take all investment decisions relating to making approved waterways navigable.

The Union Government declared 205 km of the West Coast Canal, from Kottappuram to Kollam, along with the Champakara Canal and Udyogamandal Canal as National Waterway No 3 in 1993. IWAI has so far carried out 3 million cubic metres of dredging in the NW-3. With this, the Champakara Canal and Udyogamandal Canal, as well as the Kochi-Alappuzha section of NW-3 offer navigability for barges of 300-tonne capacity. Dredging and widening of canals in Alappuzha and Kollam districts are on to achieve full navigability up to Kollam. Aids for 24-hour navigation have been installed in the Champakara and Udyogamandal canals and the Kochi-Alappuzha stretch.

The state government also plans to acquire a passenger ship at a cost of Rs 50 crore for travel between Colombo and Vizhinjam.

KSINC also wants to venture into water sports such as kayaking, water skiing, pedal boats and wind surfing, and is scouting for a suitable water body.

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