Inkel Ltd along with APM Terminals is gearing up to increase the operational capacity of its container freight station at Vallarpadam, which is currently handling 500 teu’s per day.

The CFS, set up by Inkel through an SPV of MFAR, INKEL and VKL Holdings under the name MIV Logistics Pvt Ltd, has emerged as one of the busiest freight stations in the State. The volume of container movement has considerably increased in the last one year.

Inkel Managing Director T Balakrishnan said the station has container traffic of nearly 400 trucks per day. “We are expecting it to rise by another 20 to 30 per cent in the next one year. However, full capacity utilisation will depend on the ICTT’ s performance in the coming years.

The freight station is the biggest of its kind in Kerala with more than six lakh sq ft heavy duty precast concrete tile paved yard for container storage. The facility has more than 62,000 sq feet of warehousing and storage space suitable for various types of cargo handling. Tonnage-wise, it can accommodate more than 10,000 tonnes of material; he said adding that more of warehousing facility is being planned.

Currently, the freight station is being operated and maintained by APM Terminals (APMT) on a revenue-sharing model with Inkel.

The CFS is situated on 7.59 hectares which Inkel has taken on lease from Cochin Port Trust for 30 years and the project was executed at a cost of ₹75 crore.