A dry cargo handling, storage and allied facilities; a cryogenic warehousing facility utilising cold energy generated at the LNG terminal; and hospitality facilities are among the businesses being expected by the Cochin Port Trust on the port property being leased out on both long-term and short-term basis.
The port will lease out 4.39 acre on Willingdon Island for dry cargo handling and storage. The facilities that need to be set up include terminals for handling bulk cement and bagging plants.
The port trust will also lease out three acres on the Puthuvypeen special economic zone for setting up a cryogenic warehousing for utilising cold energy from the LNG terminal being operated by Petronet LNG Limited.
Four plots measuring 6.78 acre on Willingdon Island, which comprise a piece of land near the Harbour Terminus railway station where the now-demolished port quarters stood, suited for port-related commercial activities, hospitality industry and warehousing are also being leased out. Another acre of land close to the Harbour Terminus, which earlier housed the Indian Maritime University campus, is also being leased out for port-related activities.
Another 11.5 acre on the Vallarpadam island, north of the International Container Transshipment Terminal, is being leased out for warehousing, storage, processing and value-addition. A lorry parking facility is also expected on the parcel of land.
Non-port-related activities
The port authority also expects bids for about 45 cents along National Highway 966 B near the new Mattancherry bridge junction on Willingdon Island for commercial and non-port-related activities that include restaurants, shops, workshops and service centres.
₹683 cr. operating profit
Despite the slowdown to shipping business across the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cochin Port Trust recorded an operating profit of ₹683 crore during 2020-21 against ₹649 crore during the previous year. The increase is a little more than 5% year to year. Despite the slight fall in cargo throughput, the income from cargo-related charges saw a marginal increase of about 5%.
