: S. Anantha Chandra Bose, chairman of the V.O. Chidambaranar (VOC) Port in Tamil Nadu (formerly Tuticorin Port), said here on Monday that the Kollam port had all facilities to immediately start operating as an active coastal shipping port.
He was talking to The Hindu after visiting the port along with Kerala Ports Director P.I. Shiekh Pareeth.
Mr. Bose was here to get first-hand information about the facilities at the Kollam port so that consignments meant for south Kerala arriving at the VOC port in mother vessels could be shipped to the Kollam port in feeder vessels as part of the coastal shipping programme.
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He said the Union Ministry of Shipping was keen on promoting coastal shipping in the larger interests of environment protection and easing traffic congestion on roads. Moreover, the coastal shipping ports could promote local development.
Mr. Bose said that huge consignments of raw cashew meant for the Kollam-based cashew industry and large quantities of vitrified tiles meant for the south Kerala markets arrived at the VOC port and reached Kollam by road. When the Kollam port becomes active, road transport of these consignments can be avoided.
Mr. Pareeth said with the Kollam port being allocated the Electronic Data Interchange code (EDI code), import and export can be done without hassles from the port. It means that even if the consignment meant for Kollam reaches the VOC port in mother vessels, the customs clearance can be done in Kollam port itself, he said.
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Annually, about 6 lakh tonnes of raw cashew reach Kollam mainly from various African countries and about 70,000 tonnes of kernels are also exported from here.
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