DP World Ltd-run ICTT Vallarpadam in Cochin Port is bracing up for competition as a new deep water and better located facility with flexibility to levy competitive marine charges gets ready to start operations a few nautical miles away at Vizhinjam next year.
DP World will install six new cranes, including two ship-to-shore mega max cranes at the ICTT and is banking on the first Free Trade Warehousing Zone development in Kerala and the first to be co-located alongside a terminal, to boost volumes.
“The arrival of six new cranes (including 2 STS mega max cranes) in a few weeks (Q4 2023) will be an important milestone for the terminal to enhance capacity,” Praveen Joseph, Chief Executive Officer – Ports & Terminals – Cochin, DP World Subcontinent shared with ET Infra.
“As a terminal in India that is based in a special economic zone (SEZ), the ICTT also serves as an economic hub. The proposed DP World owned and operated Cochin Integrated Business Park (Q1 2024) will be the first Free Trade Warehousing Zone development in Kerala and the first one to be co-located alongside a terminal in the country. The synergies between ICTT and Cochin Integrated Business Park is expected to significantly enhance trade possibilities for international and domestic businesses and expand their markets,” Joseph said in response to a query from ET Infra on how the ICTT planned to deal with competition from the opening of the Vizhinjam transhipment port.
After investing some Rs2,000 crores and offering a slew of other “concessions”, India’s first international container transhipment terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam in Cochin Port, will likely stare at an uncertain future after tycoon Gautam Adani‘s port unit commissions the container transhipment port at Vizhinjam in March, shipping industry sources said.
“The international container transhipment port at Vizhinjam will be a game changer,” said an executive with a container feeder shipping company based in Singapore. “It will have a huge impact on DP World’s facility at Vallarpadam,” he added.
