KOZHIKODE: Shrugging off ‘recession' blues, the six ports in north Kerala have jointly posted a 15.12 per cent increase in cargo shipments during 2009-10.

Official sources said the total revenue recorded at these ports, including Beypore, increased to Rs 4.03 crore in the last fiscal compared to Rs.3.50 crore, in 2008-2009. The increase in profit has been attributed to the earnings from the import and export of cargo, tug hire, pilotage, boat registration and also from the sale of dredged sand.

The Beypore port registered 18 per cent rise in income in the financial year, reaching Rs.79.43 lakh during the last fiscal as compared to Rs.67.22 lakh in the previous year. The Thalassery port in Kannur district and Ponnani port in Malappuram district increased their profit by 21.5 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.

The revenue income of Thalassery port rose to Rs.21.08 lakh from Rs.17.34 lakh last year and that of Ponnani, Rs.42,910, up from Rs. 30,802. The Kasaragod port also witnessed its profits soaring by 22.90 per cent from Rs 1.68 crore to Rs 2.06 crore.

At the same time, two ports in Kannur district have been impacted by the economic slump during the financial year. Azhikkal port registered a slight decline in profit by 1.6 per cent from Rs. 95.74 lakh to Rs 94.23 lakh. Earnings of Kannur port also fell by 3.40 per cent from Rs.1.63 lakh to Rs 1.58 lakh, officials said.

The State government has agreed in principle to develop the Beypore, Ponnani and Azhikkal ports under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode. It has already appointed consultants to prepare detailed projects.

Officials said Beypore was the second biggest port in the State after Kochi. It handled export cargo, including wood products, marine products, steel, rubber, tea, coffee and cashew nuts and imported items such as petroleum products, fertilisers and cement.

The government has appointed Consulting Engineers Private Ltd. to prepare a detailed project report for the development of the port. The consultant has already given an inception report to the government.

The development of the Beypore port will enhance the economic potential of north Kerala, particularly Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Kannur and Palakkad districts. It will boost cargo movement to cities such as Coimbatore, Mysore and Bangalore. Currently, the port has two wharves and other facilities such as storage sheds and cranes. It is basically an estuarine port and handles 1 lakh tonnes of cargo annually.

Project preparation

It is learnt that a Chennai-based company, Malabar Port Pvt Ltd, entrusted with the task of preparing the detailed project report (DPR) to develop the Ponnani port on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis has submitted a report. Ponnani will be developed into an all-weather port.

The greenfield project will be implemented in three phases with a total outlay of Rs.2,000 crore.

Deloitte India Ltd is in the process of preparing the DPR for the development of the Azhikkal port.

Courtesy:hindu.com