State-owned Inkel Ltd, along with APM Terminals (AMPT), is gearing up to increase the operational capacity of its state-of-the-art Container Freight Station (CFS) at Vallarpadam, which is currently handling 500 TEUs per day.
The CFS, set up by Inkel through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV of MFAR,INKEL and VKL Holdings) under the name MIV Logistics Pvt Ltd, has emerged as one of the busiest freight stations in the state.
The volume of container movement has considerably increased in the last one year.
The station has container traffic of nearly 400 trucks per day, Inkel Managing Director T Balakrishnan said in a statement.
"We are expecting it to rise by another 20 to 30 per cent in the next one year. However, full capacity utilisation will depend on performance of ICTT (International Container Transshipment Terminal's) in coming years," Balakrishnan said.
The freight station is the biggest of its kind in Kerala with more than six lakh sq ft heavy duty precast concrete tile paved yard for container storage.
"The facility has more than 62,000 sq ft of warehousing and storage space suitable for various types of cargo handling. Tonnage-wise, it can accommodate more than 10,000 tonnes of material," he said.
Currently, the freight station is operated and maintained by APM Terminals (APMT) on a revenue-sharing model with Inkel.
CFS is situated on 7.59 hectares which Inkel has taken on lease from Cochin Port Trust (CPT) for 30 years through an open tender.
The CFS Project was executed at a cost of Rs 75 crore and is the largest of its kind in the state.
The tie up of APMT with INKEL-MIV CFS was a landmark achievement as after a long time a multinational was willing to associate with a company based in Kerala.
CFS industry in Kochi is in nascent stage and the concept of CFS which is actually an extension of a port in so far as clearance of containers are concerned, is yet to mature as a natural partner of port related activities as in other ports.
