In a major boost to the shipping activities in the state, the Union government has granted approval to the Rs 750-crore ship repair and maintenance yard in Kochi. It will be set up by the Cochin Shipyard on 45 acres of land in Willingdon Island under the possession of Cochin Port Trust. The documents in this regard have been handed over at the ‘Emerging Kerala’ meet.
Inaugurating the session on ‘Ports, Ship Building and Logistics,’ Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan said that the primary focus in the port sector should be towards capacity enhancement. The minister said that Kadalur Point lighthouse and Vizhinjam lighthouse have been selected to develop as tourist centres.
Logistics sector in the state has scope for development, he said. The Kochi campus of the Indian Maritime University has been developed to cater to the needs of the region in marine education. Its infrastructure has been upgraded. The university will continue to develop the campus to adequately cater to the requirements of maritime training, he said.
The Shipping Ministry has been considering the implementation of projects through the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode development.
So far, PPP mode has been successfully implemented and since 2010, the ministry has awarded 25 PPP projects with a total investment of Rs 14,000 crore.
This year 42 projects have been taken up for implementation in the port sector at the cost of around `15,000 crore, out of which 29 are PPP projects.