The Cochin Port Trust (CPT) is receiving positive response to its bids for long-term lease of nearly seven hectares of land for setting up container freight stations (CFSs).
According to sources, the response was evident from the number of forms being downloaded from the CPT website since the tender notification was made late last month. The CPT is preparing to meet the huge demand for CFSs by leasing out land on a long-term basis. The CPT has called for bids from companies to set up CFSs on both Vallarpadam Island and in the South Eastern Reclaimed area on Willingdon Island.
According to CPT sources, the offer of land on Willingdon Island was an indication of CPT's interest in using the space available to it in the most economic manner. With a well-set transport network and roll-on/roll-off service available on Willingdon Island, it is suited for setting up CFSs.
Shipping industry has pointed to an explosion in demand for CFSs around the port area once the International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) on Vallarpadam Island is commissioned. The project is due for a soft launch in July ahead of the migration of full container operations to the Vallarpadam Island.
While only a few new container freight stations are on the horizon, the CPT is keen to see that more such facilities are established in the interest of the port business.
A senior official in the shipping industry here said the success of a port's container terminal depended on the development of a sufficient number of container freight stations, which acted as the port's arm supporting its activities from outside.
