With the strike called off at Vizhinjam Port, Cochin Port Users’ Forum has urged the Kerala Government and the Adani Group to expedite work on the project to enable commissioning within a year.
Highlighting the project’s advantages to industry and the shipping trade in the southern region, Prakash Iyer, chairman of the Forum, said the proximity of the Vizhinjam terminal, at 10 nautical miles from international shipping line, is advantageous to the trade with limited diversion time for ships. The maintenance dredging cost will be minimum, bringing down operation cost, making it even better than the neighbouring port of Colombo.
Likewise, the connectivity to the land-locked hinterland is an advantage with a national highway 2 km from the terminal and a rail route about 10 km away. Cargoes such as cashew, coir, and seafood from southern Kerala can be directly loaded to large mother ships for timely delivery at less cost. He said the per container cost for large ships would be much lower than for medium ships.
The reloading of console cargo will also create more jobs, he added.
Dismissing the notion that Vizhinjam will be a threat to Cochin Port, Iyer said all ports in the world depend on each other. The new port might actually increase the volume of Cochin Port and the lines can consider new services connecting Cochin, Vizhinjam, Colombo and Mangalore ports.