‘Key stretch of National Waterways in Kerala will be operational this year’

The much-awaited Kollam-Kottappuram stretch of National Waterways No. - 3 will be operational this year itself, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said.

Speaking at the valedictory session of the three-day international seminar on the potential of the Indian logistics industry with specific focus on Kerala, he said that certain minor hitches in commissioning the waterways are being sorted out by the State Ports Department.

Viable proposals

Once this stretch is commissioned, it will be easy to extend the stretch to Kovalam in the South and Manajeswaram in the North, he said.

Assuring that all viable recommendations of the seminar will be considered and implemented with priority, the Chief Minister said the Government was committed to extending all support and assistance for developing the State’s immensely potential coastal and inland waterways.

He said that developing the coastal waterways was among the top in the list of projects recommended by technocrat Sam Pitroda, who is now the mentor for the State’s development.

Stating that Kerala has immense potential to develop the logistics sector especially on account of the three international airports and the 4th at Kannur (ready to take off), three major ports and a host of minor ports, including Vizhinjam and Azhikkal — all set to emerge as key maritime hubs. The Government was also aware of the infrastructural constraints that stood in the way of developing the logistics sector. He assured all support in this area, especially in setting up quality warehouses for agricultural products.

The seminar was organised by the Kerala State Productivity Council and Falcon Infrastructures Ltd in association with State Government.

N A Mohammed Kutty, Chairman, organising committee and Managing Director, Falcon Infrastructures presented a summary of the proceedings and recommendations, which urged the State Government to expedite the matters to get the cabotage relaxation for the Vallarpadam terminal at the earliest.

Transhipment biz

The transhipment cargo at Vallarpadam terminal was only just a fraction of the business at ports such as Salalah and Singapore. The meeting urged the Government to take steps to increase transhipment cargo at ICTT by providing incentives.

Transhipment is a lucrative sector worldwide for generating revenue for the ports. The relaxation of the Cabotage Law for containerised cargo will not affect business done by Indian shipping companies, it said.

sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in .