The new container freight station at Eloor in the public sector marks a great beginning for Kochi, which must exploit the potential unleashed by the commissioning of the International Container Transhipment Terminal later this year, said the Minister for Industries Elamaram Kareem here on Wednesday.
He was speaking at the foundation laying ceremony for the facility. The Minister said that the transhipment terminal would require around 200 such freight stations in a radius of about 40 km. The Minister said that the new freight station would provide employment directly to 350 people and another 1,000 persons will gain indirect employment. The freight station is coming up on an 8.5-acre land leased by Kerala Industrial Enterprises for 30 years from Travancore Cochin Chemicals. The latter will get 10 per cent of the profit from the operation of the container freight station. Mr. Kareeem said that the government was also considering applications received from private companies for setting up similar facilities to utilise the potential of the container transhipment terminal. The Minister reiterated that the State had set an example in reviving PSUs and that the government would further strengthen the PSUs through fresh investments.
The setting up of an inland cargo jettty at Nattakam in Kottayam was a great step towards easy movement of cargo to and from the transhipment terminal. A special jetty is being set up at the Vallarpadam site to serve the Nattakam jetty, he added. The new container freight station is being set up at a cost of Rs.47 crore and will have the latest cargo tracking and security facilities.
