Cochin Port Trust is awaiting a nod from the Union government for allotment of 1.62 hectares to Government of Kerala for setting up a treatment plant for sewage and septage receiving station.
The Port Trust is obliged, under Annexe 4 of the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships, called Marpol, to set up adequate facilities for treating sewage and waste from ships arriving at the port here as well as for treating waste generated in the port premises.
The Port Trust has identified the location for the proposed facility on the south end reclamation and proposed handing it over to the State government, which had shown interest in partnering the Port Trust for the project. However, handing over the land on a nomination basis to the State government requires sanction by the Union government, which has put in place a strict regimen on long-term lease or outright sale of land belonging to port trusts across the country.
The land is expected to be leased for a period of 30 years for setting up the 12 million litres per day-capacity sewage treatment plant subject to payment of lease rental to the Port Trust at the rates notified by Tariff Authority for Major Ports.
The proposed plant will also be used to handle domestic sewage besides sewage from the vessels calling at the port.
The lease rent for the proposed plot has been fixed at Rs.22.99 lakh per year per hectare. Half of the lease rental will be paid by the State government and the rest by the Corporation of Kochi.
Setting up the sewage treatment plant also involves development of basic facilities like roads and pipelines to convey the waste to the treatment site.
