Cochin Port Trust is expected to sign over 25 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth around ₹3,000 crore at the 2nd Maritime India Summit 2021 scheduled to be held on March 2 to 4.

These MoUs will majorly be signed between Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT), Kottayam Port and ICD Services, IOCL, and IGTPL, among others. The MoUs will be signed in areas like dredging for maintenance of channels and basins, coastal connectivity, cargo handling, tourism-related projects, aviation fuel terminal, and deepening and widening of port channels, among others, senior port officials said.

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The port has already started attracting investments in upgrading infrastructure facilities and new projects as part of promoting maritime trade. The new investments, according to officials, will create more job opportunities.

The port will sign an MoU with BPCL for movement of petrochemicals to the West Coast through Kochi Port and lighterage operations. The development of a free trade warehousing zone near the International Container Transshipment Terminal will also be signed during the meet. Petronet LNG will establish a gasing up and cooling down unit in the Vypeen Special Economic Zone.

FACT is to augment its cargo handling facility at the port. Terminal operator DP World has plans to establish a cryogenic warehouse at the port, while IndianOil is planning to set up a lube oil unit and an aviation fuel terminal, the officials said.

The other investors are Parisons Infrastructure, Great Seas Services LLP, Cochin Cements, Greenix Ventures and REC Global. The District Tourism Promotion Council has come up with a project to set up a water sports complex, performing arts centre and sound and light show.

The port has also asked IIT Madras to conduct a study on utilising the sand dredged to deepen the port channel. The yearly outgo on maintenance dredging is around ₹90 crore, a recurring expenditure, the officials added.