Kerala Vallarpadam Container Terminal
Vallarpadam Container Terminal (ICTT) is located at Vallarpadam island in Kochi. Vallarpadam Container Terminal (ICTT) will be inaugurated by Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Feb 19, 2011. In this post on Vallarpadam Container Terminal (ICTT), I have given a short description of the facility with a few pictures.
Vallarpadam Container Terminal (ICTT)
Vallarpadam Container Terminal is India's only International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT). This facility is located at Vallarpadam island near Kochi. To start with, the first phase of the Terminal will have a capacity of 1 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) with 600 meters of quay, 6 Super-Post Panamax Quay Cranes and an on-dock railhead serviced by 15 rail mounted gantry crane. Vallarpadam Container Terminal is country's largest single-operator container terminal.
Foundation stone for the facility was laid by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2005. This Terminal is built with the collaboration of Dubai Ports World (DPW), and DPW will be managing and operating the Terminal for a period of 38 years. The total cost of the project is estimated at US $500 mln, and will be funded by DPW through their own direct investment and debt. Vallarpadam Container Terminal is located in Special Economic Zone (SEZ).Strategic Location
One of the most important plus point of this facility is its location, strategically located on the main east-west global shipping lines. It can handle a draft of about 14.5 m. This Terminal will help Kochi develop into a premiere Gateway into South India, offering an alternative to Sri Lanka and Singapore for containers being transshipped for the Indian market.Future Plans
Vallarpadam Terminal will be expanded to eventually a total capacity of 3 million TEUs. Quay will be further extended to 1.8 km with at least 16 Quay Cranes capable of handling the largest vessels afloat. Yard-handling equipments will be also added to meet the enhanced requirements of the Terminal.First Vessel Docks
At 5:45 pm on Feb 10, the first vessel berthed at the Vallarpadam Container Transshipment Terminal. The ship OEL DUBAI carrying 400 nos of containers is the first ship to dock at the Terminal. Honorable Shipping minister G.K. Vasan, Secretary (Shipping) Mr. Mohandas, Cochin Port Trust Chairman Mr N. Ramachandran, and other important officials of DPW were present at the terminal to receive the vessel.
A shipping Corporation vessel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, will be docked at the Terminal on Friday, Feb 11, to load containers before going to Colombo, and then off to Jebel Ali, Dubai to mark the launch of international operations of the facility.Commissioning
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has dedicated Vallarpadam Container Terminal to the nation on Feb 11, 2011 in the presence of Union Ministers, State Ministers, top representatives of Dubai Port World, and other leaders and bureaucrats. 
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