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Officers of Kochi Port are worried that the Kerala government’s bid to promote Vizhinjam Port could affect their future.
The Cochin Port Officers’ Association has sent an SOS to the Shipping Ministry seeking its support to safeguard the Vallarpadam terminal.
“We are afraid that if the Vizhinjam terminal project becomes a reality, it will hurt the prospects of the Vallarpadam project,” the association said in a letter to the Shipping Minister.
It was pointed out that Vallarpadam, a dream project of Kochi Port, was running at 35 per cent capacity and was not earning the expected revenue returns. Besides, the maintenance dredging expenditure in Kochi, which had exceeded the revenue share, had resulted in mounting losses.
Hence, the association urged the Ministry to re-examine whether the Vizhinjam project should be pursued when the Vallarpadam terminal was yet to achieve its full potential.
The association denied the claims of the Kerala government that Vizhinjam woud not pose a threat to Vallarpadam, saying that both the terminals were targeting the same transshipment and domestic cargo.
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