KOCHI: Buoyed by the 14 per cent growth rate achieved within the first three months of the calender year, Dubai Port World (DP World), which operates the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, aims to cross the six lakh mark in container handling this year.
“We have maintained a compounded annual growth rate of 13 per cent in past three years. This year, we achieved 14 per cent growth each month from January to March. With 14 percent market share, Kochi is second among 12 ports in south India and our competitor has 18 per cent market share. We are confident of growing to the first position within a short period,” DP World chief executive officer Praveen Thomas Joseph told Express here on Friday.
According to Praveen, world class infrastructure and international quality service have helped ICTT achieve the feat. With automated system, the turn around time of trucks has been reduced to 24 minutes. By adopting of modern technology, installing latest equipment and an automated vessel operations system, the port aims at a healthy growth rate in the future, he said.
The port has been striving to attract more mother vessels while there is a 50 percent growth in transshipment sector in the past one year. Two mother vessels from Far East, three from Middle East, one each from Mediterranean, Europe, Australia and New Zealand docks at the port every week. Three services are operated to Colombo per week. Wan Hai Shipping Line of China launched a weekly mainline service, the China-India Express service, last month. DP World is trying to woo cargo services from the US to start direct services, said Praveen.
“Though we have been able to attract more mother vessels, a major chunk of the cargo from India still goes to other transshipment ports like Singapore, Dubai and Colombo. To receive more mainline services, we have to expand the terminal,” he said.
Praveen said though Kochi Port has a history of work stoppages in the past, not many vessel activities were affected in the past five years. “Kochi is an all-weather port with world class productivity. We have an extremely harmonious work culture. When there is a hartal, the port experiences a slow down, but never affects the movement of vessels. While 30 per cent of cargo from Kochi was transported by mainline vessels in 2014, the figure has grown to 55% in 2018,” he said.