The Kerala State government is getting a blueprint ready for developing five small ports across the length of the Kerala coast, in addition to the deepwater container transhipment terminal at Vizhinjam which is now being put through the re-tendering process, the Hindu reported.
Minister for Ports M Vijayakumar said that the State should look ahead and prepare for the changing times.
He said the government visualised future Kerala as a "maritime State." There were 17 notified ports in the State. Of them, Azheekal, Beypore, Ponnani, Alappuzha and Thankassery were on the priority list of ports to be revived and developed for small vessel modern shipping.
"We are going ahead with this plan," Vijayakumar said, while inaugurating the workshop.
The preliminary project reports for the small ports at Azheekal and Beypore drawn up by leading consultants were presented before ports officials and representatives of stakeholder groups for discussion.
Sanjeev Kaushik, Ports Secretary and chief executive officer of Vizhinjam International Seaports Limited, said the government was working on the idea of reviving these small ports under the public-private-participation model.
According to the presentation, Azheekal port is proposed to be developed stage by stage, synchronising with the projected cargo movement increase and feeding its hinterland that includes Kannur and Kasaragod districts and parts of Kozhikode and Wayanad districts in Kerala and Coorg in Karnataka State.
With the proposal to set up a coal-based super power thermal project at Cheemeni in Kasaragod active in the agenda of Kerala State Electricity Board, coal is being seen as a major import cargo for this port. Cement will be another major import cargo. |
