N Muruganandam, Finance Secretary of Tamil Nadu emphasised on developing the VO Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi as a major container transhipment port. He says the port has better connectivity and is ideally located, and can be an alternative to Colombo in attracting transhipment containers.
About 75 per cent of the cargo is trans-shipped through Singapore, Colombo or Port Klang ports. The Government of India and all the authorities have been hunting for a trans-shipment port, without realising the suitability of the VOC port. It is the most strategically located for trans-shipment being close to international maritime routes; with an excellent ecosystem, and good labour relations and operational efficiency.
Need to focus on VOC Port
The VOC Port is best-positioned to be a trans-shipment port, he said at a seminar on maritime PPP conclave 2022. “However, we are ignoring that, and going all around the place — whether Vizag, Kochi or Vizhinjam can come up. We will go nowhere because Vizhinjam has no ecosystem; we have to develop the ecosystem; Vizag is too far away from the maritime route; and Kochi has not picked up. Unless we focus on the VOC port and develop it as a trans-shipment port, I don’t think there is any future to have our own trans-shipment port in India. We will continue to move through Colombo or Singapore as we are moving now,” he said.
Industry Secretary S Krishnan said trade has suffered if the cargo is delayed at trans-shipment ports of Colombo and vital supplies — whether export or import — gets delayed in the process. The solution is obvious. The location, which was prescribed and suggested, is obvious — Thoothukudi.
‘75% of India’s cargo handled outside’
If the VOC port needs to be made the trans-shipment port for India, one needs to figure out a way to reduce the distance of reaching the port from the East Coast. It would entail an important addendum project that needs to be taken up alongside the deepening and expansion of the port. This is an important agenda for the State government as well, utilise the port more effectively as a trans-shipment port, and help trade in the region, he said.
Agreeing with both Muruganandam and Krishnan on developing VOC port as a major trans-shipment port, Ennarasu Karunesan, Regional Director of Tokyo-based International Association of Ports and Harbour, said that annually India incurs over $300 million as additional cost, as 75 per cent of India’s cargo is handled outside the country. Colombo, Singapore and Klang handle 85 per cent of India’s cargo and there is over-dependence that risks India’s trade competitiveness. The VOC port can become a major trans-shipment hub as is being done at Vadhavan port by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority in Maharashtra.
