Diverse Emirati investments in Kochi

The Kochi container terminal is the youngest of five ports and is the only transshipment hub supported by a hinterland that extends across the country, and has a captive volume of more than eight million of twenty foot equivalent unit (TEUs).

DP World does 34 percentage of container handling in India, said Jibu Kurien Itty, chief executive officer, India Gateway Terminal.

Addressing the visiting UAE media delegation on the sidelines of the official visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, due to begin today, he said that all ports are currently operational. "The Subcontinent investments are made strategically across all major gateways along north, to Mundra and Nhava Sheva on the west coast, and up to Chennai and Visakhapatnam on the east coast. We are yet to start operations in Kulpi, in West Bengal, but we have the operational license for it," said Itty.

Being the operators of India's first private container terminal in 1999, DP World has over the years developed the network and understanding of India's business dynamics of container trade. With 90 per cent of the global trade moving by sea, container terminal operators have an unprecedented impact on the smooth running of global supply chain.

Smart City Project

Shadi Khoja, Director of Strategy at Dubai Smart City said that the many benefits of the Smart City Project at Kochi are not limited to being an investment project which provides more than 90,000 jobs and three times of that number indirectly but also it represents an important landmark in the global stature of Kerala. He added that the projects will attract many international specialised companies in technology.

Explaining logistics Itty said, "Currently, we have a million TEU capacity scale but we expect to take up to 4 million at the completion of the third phase. Currently, we have a total land area of 112 hectares. We have our development chalked out in a phased manner. The port enjoys a draft of 14.5 metre a draft adequate to service the largest ships afloat. We are connected to a rail network, in other words the trains can be taken to any part of India. We have got a 4.68km rail freight bridge exclusively built for this project."

According to him south India's container market accounts for closed to two million TEUs, 25 per cent of India's trade. "Today, all trade from this area finds its way overseas through transshipment out of international hubs. And we want to position ourselves as the preferred choice for India's container business." 

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