The Hindu Business Line : Kochi port going ahead with preliminary activities for SEZ

THE Cochin Port Trust is going ahead with the preliminary activities for setting up of the port-based special economic zone covering a total area of 456.5 hectares (consisting of 170.7 hectares in Vallarpadam and 285.8 hectares in Puthuvypeen), as the final notification of the area as SEZ by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industries is expected shortly.

The Chairman, Dr Jacob Thomas, said the port had already allotted 82 hectares of land to Kochi Refineries Ltd (KRL) for its storage tank farm for single buoy mooring (SBM) and another 32 hectares to Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) for its LNG terminal at Puthuvypeen.

The allotted area was handed over to PLL last week and action is on for the formal handing over of the land to KRL.

He pointed out that the several other organisations had also approached the port for allotment of land for setting up units in the proposed SEZ, which include an ethane separation unit mooted by GAIL (India) Ltd, an LPG unloading and refrigerated storage facility by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and a gas-based combined cycle power plant and desalination plant by NeST Group of companies.

However, the port is now finding it difficult to meet the demands, as the balance land available at Puthuvypeen is limited, he said.

In this connection, a meeting was held recently between the port and the parties concerned regarding the land utilisation.

The officials from Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation also participated in the meeting. According to the Chairman, a suggestion was made to the participants to explore the possibilities of sharing the common requirements such as jetty, unloading arms, cooling water facilities, and fire fighting facilities to minimise the land requirements.

There is no road connectivity to Puthuvypeen from Goshree road. In the meeting, it was decided to construct a new road from the existing Goshree road. PLL, KRL and the port will share the cost of the same, he said.

Initially, it is proposed to meet the power requirements from the KSEB's grid and, thereafter, from the dedicated captive power plant, proposed to be set up in the SEZ, Dr Thomas added.

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