Another feather in the cap for tourism in Goa

Mormugao Port Trust to have an international cruise liner terminus within three years

Goa will be adding another feather to its tourism industry, as the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) is gearing up to have an international cruise-liner terminus within three years. Along with Goa, major ports like Mumbai, Mangalore, Cochin and Chennai, the Government of India has been asked to develop facilities for handling cruise-liners.

"Ports on the west-coast have been asked to upgrade facilities to handle passenger traffic," says C Venkatachalam, chairman of the MPT. India's eighth ranked port, MPT has short-listed three companies""Afcons, Gammons India and Adanis to construct the international cruise-liner terminus.

The contract is likely to be finalized at a meeting scheduled in New Delhi on 19 July. The meeting will be held in the office of Ministry of Shipping. Nearly ten hectares of land along the coast will be reclaimed for providing various facilities.

The Rs 185 crore project will be constructed with private participation on BOOT basic, according to Venkatachalam. He said that the construction work for the international cruise-liner terminus would complete in three years from the time the work is awarded. "Once it (cruise-terminal) is operational, ports like Goa, Mumbai, Mangalore, Kochi, and Chennai in the East, would serve as a 'cruise-circuit' for domestic tourists," Venkatachalam opines.

The MPT and 11 other major ports in India, like other ports the world over, are essentially engaged in cargo-handling. In addition to this, some of the ports also handle cargo vessels and occasionally foreign defence vessels on goodwill visits.

Venkatachalam says, "Sea travel is extremely popular in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the United States, but remains largely untapped in the Asian sector. The Government of India is keen that ports on the West coast improve facilities to handle cruise vessels."

A Singapore-based company has shown interest in handling international cruise-liners to Mormugao. The berth would have quick berthing and passenger evacuation facilities as well as banking, duty-free and restaurant services. "We are working on this project and the results will be positive," says Venkatachalam confidently.

On its modernisation plan, the MPT has proposed to modernise berths, put up additional berths at Vasco Bay, replace state-of-the-art equipment at the mechanised ore-handling plant, introduce wagon-handling system to bring iron ore from hinterland regions, install mechanised dust-control system to avoid dust pollution.

The MPT plans to spend Rs 800 crore on augmentation and expansion programme in the next ten years. The port saw a 10 per cent growth in traffic, largely due to the growing demand for iron ore exports to China. Iron ore constituted 81 per cent of MPTs' 30.66 million tonne of cargo handled in 2004-05.

Goa makes for 40 per cent of India's iron ore exports. During the last financial year, MPT generated income to the tune of Rs 223.20 crore and incurred an expenditure of Rs 191.25 crore, thereby earning the net surplus of Rs 31.95 crore.

Venkatachalam expects the ore boom to continue for another three years. China lifted 12.7 million tonne of ore from Goa last year, followed by Japan at 6.3 million and Romania and Pakistan at 1.3 million each.

Among ore exporters, Sesa Goa shipped out 5.5 million tonne followed by V S Dempo with 3.4 million and V M Salgaonkar and Chowgule & Co with 2.7 million tonne each.