Going by the direction of the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships, the Cochin Port Trust will set up a sewage treatment plant at the Willingdon Island for the processing of waste from ships calling at the port.
The port authorities have identified the location for the proposed facility at the south end of the Willingdon Island where reclaimed land is available.
1.62 hectares of land identified for the plant would be handed over to the state government, which has expressed interest in the project, soon after the Central Government clears the proposal of the Port Trust. Since the land is expected to be leased for 30 years, the clearence from the Central Governmernt is mandatory, sources said. “We expect the clearance from the Central Government at the earliest,” they said. As per the regulations prepared at the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships, the Port authorities are obliged to set up facilities for treating sewage and waste generated from ships as well as eating waste generated in the port premises.
The proposed plant will have a capacity of 12 million litres per day. The lease amount will be finalised at a rate as per the tariff notified by by Tariff Authority for Major Ports(TAMP). Half of the lease rental will be paid by the state government and the rest by the Corporation of Cochin.