The Hindu Business Line : `Growth of cargo from hinterland has been encouraging'

Though hinterland traffic has grown, satisfaction can happen only when the Cochin Port becomes a mega port and DP World Cochin Container Terminal is the preferred port of choice from the hinterland beyond the southern boundaries.

MR SURESH JOSEPH, GENERAL MANAGER, DP WORLD, COCHIN

DP World, the container terminal operator in Cochin Port Trust, will complete two years of operations by April. The initiatives taken by the company in attracting mainline vessels to Kochi has borne fruit with several fixed schedule service connecting major ports in China and West Asia calling at the port. The company is expecting one more mainline service to the East Coast of US by the end of this year. Mr Suresh Joseph, General Manager, DP World, Cochin, spoke to Business Line on the plans of the company to attract more cargo from the hinterland before the commencement of the new fixed mainline services.

Excerpts from the interview:

You are going to complete two years by April 2007. How far you have moved towards commissioning the Vallarpadam project?

The marine, geo-technical and topographic studies have been completed. The preliminary design and drawings are in the process of being completed. The approval of the Cochin Port Trust will be taken before we undertake the detail design and drawings.

Recently there were rumours on the project being denied security clearance by the Union Government...

We have no information of any change in the status from when the Cochin Port Trust had taken the requisite clearances from Central Ministries to enter into a Concession Agreement with DP World. Therefore, it is business as usual for DP World, Kochi.

Are you satisfied with the growth in the volumes of containers? What steps have you taken to increase the flow from hinterland?

Let's say that the growth of cargo from the hinterland has been encouraging — the growth this year is nearly 18 per cent. Satisfied, No.

The state of satisfaction can happen only when the Cochin Port becomes a mega port and DP World, Cochin Container Terminal is the preferred port of choice from the hinterland beyond the southern boundaries. Now, we have a weekly train service from/to the Concor operated ICD at Whitefield (near Bangalore). Concor has been very supportive of our efforts to improve the arrivals from Bangalore.

Trade meets and sales calls are being intensified to improve the footprint from Bangalore. Similarly, the road linkages from the ICDs in Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Karur have been targeted to improve their presence out of the Cochin Port.

We shortly expect the announcement of a mainline service to East Coast of the US. The schedules are also likely to begin before the end of the year. Marketing is our lifeline as throughput and growth are our watchwords. Now that we have the right products in place marketing efforts will be intensified to enlarge the current hinterland.

Are the productivity and turnaround of ships at Kochi is on a par with international standards? Or, do you need to improve?

Improvement is continuous and on-going. We would like to see bigger parcel sizes being turned around faster. This will happen with the mainline vessel calls as they stabilise.

The gross move per hour, which was hovering around nine in March 2005, is consistently over 15 now. International standards of productivity will be achieved with better vessels, stowage and bigger parcel sizes.

How have the workers contributed to improving productivity? Is there any need for a change in the work culture?

The changes that we see at the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal are a tribute to the skill, industry and commitment of the workers at all levels of the India Gateway Terminal Family.

There are many other areas where further changes can fetch the customers a better deal and improve productivity. These are being addressed.

How much has the recent initiative by the port management in curbing illegal practices at Kochi helped you?

The initiative has sent a strong message to the trade that `We will Walk our Talk'. It has helped re-establish the confidence of the trade in the management of the Cochin Port Trust.

As for the container terminal, the transaction costs to shippers have been quite substantially reduced by curbing the payment of illegal monies, both within and outside the terminal.

What is your opinion on using the waterways for box movement to Kochi from various parts of the State?

Any initiative to use the waterways in Kerala to move containers from and to Kochi is most welcome as that will help decongest the roads and also provide a more environment-friendly transport alternative.

However, the cost factor has to be carefully considered in the light of additional handling of the containers.

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