(a) whether the foundation stone for the proposed International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam in Kochi has been laid recently;
(b) if so, the details of the project alongwith the funds allocated for the said purpose;
(c) by when it is likely to be commissioned;
(d) whether the Government has assessed the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Transshipment Terminal at Kochi; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF SHIPPING, ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI T.R. BAALU)
(a) Yes, Sir.
(b) Cochin Port Trust (CoPT) has signed a Licence Agreement with India Gateway Terminal Private Limited, a subsidiary of Dubai Ports International, Dubai, UAE on 31.1.2005 for operation and management of Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT) and development and operation of International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The Agreement envisages time-bound implementation of ICTT project. The BOT operator will initially take over the existing RGCT for further development and operation till the ICTT becomes operational. . The Government will take necessary steps to ensure the provision of common user infrastructure facilities, namely, rail and road connectivity and adequate depth in the navigational channels for the terminal. Investment in the project to be developed in phases by the BOT operator is estimated to be Rs. 2118 crores. Investment by the Government/Port Trust for providing the common user infrastructure facilities
is estimated to be Rs. 881 crores. On completion of the project, the terminal will have facilities to handle 3 million Twenty Feet Equivalent Units (TEUs) of container traffic. Vessels upto a size of 8000 TEUs can be handled in the Terminal.
(c) Under the Agreement, the Port Trust is required to hand over the RGCT to the BOT operator not later than 8 weeks from the date of award of the License. As per the time frames envisaged in the Agreement, the ICTT is scheduled to commence commercial operations within 4 years thereafter.
(d)&(e) Yes, Sir. A detailed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study in respect of the ICTT Project has been carried out by the Cochin Port Trust through the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Kochi. NIO has conducted detailed field observations covering the seasons and identified the impacts associated with the proposed activities as also the mitigation measures, wherever applicable. The anticipated impacts as identified are mainly those induced by the proposed dredging operations in the navigational channel. These include changes in morphology of Cochin Estuary and the resultant changes in the tidal flow, flushing rate, salinity variation/intrusion, sedimentation etc. The considered view of NIO is that these effects are localized, i.e, confined within the harbour basin only and there would be no impact on the upstream areas because of the special nature of the tidal regime of the Cochin Port area.