 "Nod for new port at Enayam not justified: Kerala Port Minister")
On Tuesday, the Union Cabinet had given its 'in-principle' approval for setting up a major port at Enayam at the southern tip of Tamil Nadu. The project would cost around Rs 25,000 crore. The concern of the Kerala minister is that already an international port project, the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, is in development in a short distance from the newly allowed project in Enayam, Colachel.
Kerala Minister for Ports, Museums and Archaeology, Ramachandran Kadannappally said, "Allowing two such huge projects in a distance of 25 kilometers cannot be justified. The governments has the responsibility to make the projects success."
"There are certain procedures, which has to be complied with. The central government has not considered this," said the minister to the reporters, adding that the State government has the information from the news and not from any official communication. He added that the State government's response will be conveyed to the centre after speaking to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
While one side questions are raised related to its economic feasibility, locals have also raised voice against the project in apprehension of its impact on the environment and their livelihood.
Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Port is being developed by Adani Group in Kerala.
It may be noted that experts has earlier expressed their views in the same lines. G Raghushankar, chairman, SICCI Logistics Committee said that creating clusters of ports within a short radius would be unhealthy unless each port is driven by specific requirements that would not compete with each other. In terms of reduction of cost it will not be anything and in terms of time it could be less than a day to attract as an alternate solution.
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Experts pointed mega projects like Enayam need smooth relationship between Centre and state and with the neighbours, which is wanting due to political reasons.
Union Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari said that around 25 per cent of Indian container cargo is transshipped at foreign ports and Tamil Nadu alone accounts for more than 50 per cent of transshipped cargo. Developing a port at Enayam will arrest any attempt by neighbouring nations eying the transshipment opportunities in the region.
There are only a few ports in India that have sufficient draft and can match global cargo handling efficiencies. Average draft ranges between 12 and 14 meters, peaking to 18 - 19 meters in some places. Enayam Port will have a draft of 20 meters.
This will also reduce the logistics cost for exporters and importers in South India who currently depend on trans-shipment in Colombo or other ports thus incurring additional port handling charges.
Indian port industry loses out upto Rs 1,500 crore of revenues each year, said the Ministry.
Raghushankar said that the project could never challenge the potential of Colombo as a transshipment hub due to well established position. Possible to make a dent with a gestation is over 10 years to develop a market for the Port and create a brand,
Cost comparisons with Colombo is a mirage as no Indian port will / will be able offer rates anywhere near neighboring terminal as the investment cost has to be recovered even if it over a long period of time. Classic example of failure to meet projection is Vallarpadam in Kerala - established to become a hub and all facilities were provided but still never took off.
Even relaxation of cabotage law for the first time exclusively to promote Vallarpadam could not yield any worthwhile result, he said. In terms of reduction of cost it will not be anything and in terms of time it could be less than a day to attract as an alternate solution.
Such efforts are normally not undertaken in India due to both limited political climate and bureaucratic vision (hardly lasts for 5 years or less). In developed countries the global marketing efforts to brand ports are phenomenally high and are independent of political shifts.