KOCHI:
Cochin Port Trust Chairman, G Senthilvel called on the Chief Minister,at his office in Thiruvananthapuram along with Dr. Unnikrishnan Nair, Traffic Manager, and G Vaidyanathan, Chief Engineer.
Senthilvel requested the Chief Minister to resolve the pipe line issue for the LNG terminal as the terminal constructed at cost of Rs.4000 crores is operating only at 8% capacity and the under utilization is affecting the Cochin Port Trust’s revenues. With the pipe line connectivity to Mangalore (via Thrissur, Malappuram) and Bangalore (via Palakkad), the Cochin Port will earn additional Rs.100 crores which will make the Port come out of its losses and will make profit. The State Government will also earn revenue through VAT.
He also apprised the various ongoing and proposed projects in the Cochin Port, especially the development aspects and issues relating to Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT). The Chief Minister assured the support of the State Government to resolve the pipe line issues of the LNG terminal as it is one of their priority.
The CPT team also met Dr. Thomas Issac, Finance Minister, who has assured support to remove the road blocks to ensure the tempo and growth of the Port development. Issues related to environmental clearances relating to various projects were apprised by the CPT team to the Chief Secretary, who has promised to look into it shortly.
