: Minister for Ports K. Babu commissioned two container reach stackers at the Kollam port at a function on Thursday. The reach stackers, capable of handling 40-ft-long containers, were purchased at a cost of Rs. 3.15 crore each.
Addressing the gathering at the function Mr. Babu said about 60 ships had called at the port since Chief Minister Oommen Chandy flagged off the coastal shipping project in November 2013 from the Kollam port. Since then, the port had handled over 17, 328 metric tonnes of cargo. Mr. Babu said the government had placed an order for a cutter suction dredger from Germany costing Rs. 20 crore for the Kollam port. An amphibian dredger would also be purchased at a cost of Rs. 6.50 crore.
Passenger terminal
He said talks were on with the Cochin, Tuticorin and Lakshadweep port authorities with regard to complementing the Kollam port. The tender formalities for construction of a passenger terminal at the port at a cost of Rs. 19.36 crore had been completed. The Chief Minister would lay the foundation stone for the terminal, he said.
Mr. Babu said a reach stacker and a container handling crane each would be purchased for the Kannur, Azheekal and Beypore ports. He also commissioned the survey launch of the Hydraulic Survey Department. Mayor Honey Benjamin; Ports director P.I. Shiekh Pareeth; Kollam port officer Abraham Kuriakose; Kollam Development Authority chairman A.K. Hafeez; and Corporation councillors George D. Kattil and Robin; spoke.
