KOCHI: In a bid to generate more income, the Cochin Port will lease two of its under-utilised berths to the Indian Navy. The Navy will start operations at Q2 and Q3 berths of the Mattancherry wharf from January.
“The decision to lease out the berths was made considering the fact that both these berths are under-urtilised. Utilisation of these berths is below 15 per cent. The deal brings Port Trust an annual income of Rs 8.33 crore per annum,” said A V Ramana, deputy chairman, Cochin Port.
The Cochin Port has two wharfs -- Ernakulam and Mattancherry. The Mattancherry channel leading to the wharf has a depth of 9.7 metres. According to Ramana, the Port Trust is now focusing on generating more income from its existing assets/ facilities instead of going for expansion and other development projects. “The port expects to register considerable increase in the revenue by the end of this fiscal,” he said.
The Mattancherry channel is 4.08-km long with the width varying from 180 to 250 metres. On the Mattancherry channel, there are four alongside berths - for general cargo, one boat train pier and two jetties for miscellaneous cargo.
The Cochin Port, which registered the highest growth (17.93 per cent) among major ports in the country during the first two quarters of the current fiscal, handled 18.95 million tonnes of cargo in 2017-18 over the corresponding period of 2016-17.
The port is also promoting the coastal cargo by offering reduction in vessel-related charges. What helped the port to register the highest growth is increase in traffic of petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL), and containers during April- November. While traffic of POL increased 24 per cent, container traffic grew 11.35 per cent.