Cochin Overseas

Visit KochiNow

2008-08-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

This blog compliments the new initiative KochiNow. We look forward to more activities.

Cochin and India on the Maritime Map

2008-06-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

India on the Maritime Map
India is booming and its population is gradually catching on to the marine lifestyle. At a rate of growth of 9.4% per annum, India's economy has now swelled to a trillion dollars, making it only the 12th nation to reach this milestone.

Statistics show that the luxury goods market in India is growing at 30-32% pa.
Today’s affluent Indian consumer is going overboard in his urge to splurge.

Stats & Facts:

* In 2007, there were an estimated 120,000 Indians with assets over US$ 1 million.

* 13,000 new Indian US$ millionaires were added in the past year alone - a 15% p.a. increase over the previous year.

* With a population in excess of 12 million, Mumbai is said to have more millionaires per square mile than Manhattan.

For marine businesses, India is looking more like a potential boating hub every year. Mumbai is known as the ‘Gateway to India’ and its commercial and business epicentre. Mumbai has a natural harbour with miles of sheltered coastline with great places to sail to. The city houses the diamond, finance, IT and film industries – Bollywood is the world’s largest film producing centre.

India, Mumbai particularly, has a strong boating heritage with the third oldest yacht club in the world, the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, set up in 1846.

Yet, the first marina development is only just underway – the Bolgatty Island marina in Cochin, Kerala. Awarded through a global bidding process undertaken by KITCO the project was won by Gulf Marinas, a leading marina manufacturer based in Sharjah whose Indian partners are Ocean Blue Marinas.

Kochi (known in Colonial times as Cochin) is situated on the south-west coast of the Indian peninsula in the scenic and prosperous state of Kerala.

Its strategic importance over the centuries gave shelter to Arabs, British, Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese sailors, all of whom have left indelible marks on the region’s development.

Kochi has emerged as the commercial and industrial force and is perhaps the second most important city on the west coast of India (after Mumbai/Bombay). It boasts a world class port and international airport that link it to many major cities worldwide.

The entire 900km length of the Kerala coast is lined with sandy beaches, rocky promontories and coconut palms that definitely merit a visit in every tourist itinerary. Touring the beach sites of Kovalam can make any beach holiday a delightful one, as Kerala's beaches are renowned for the gentle surf and blue waters.
Kochi has a buzzing shipyard, so in addition to bringing tourists to the region, the marina will provide job opportunities to hundreds of workmen in repairing boats and communication equipment. Only last weekend Koci was the stop-over point for the high profile round the world powerboat race Earthrace, now heading for Europe, aiming to break a decade old round the world record.

With the city already playing host to the Volvo Ocean Race in 2008, major investment in a deep draft marine is required the government is sure the country’s first marina will attract significant global maritime attention.

On 1 March, the chief minister laid the foundation stone for Bolgatty Island. The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) Chairman, Cheriyan Philip, announced the marina, situated between Marine Drive and Bolgatty Island, will have facilities for 50 yachts, a Marina House with all modern facilities, a Marina Museum and recreation and convention centres.

A golf course would eventually be developed adjoining it.

The total cost is Rs 8 crore (Rupees 80 million or AUD$2 million). Around Rs 4 million is from central assistance and the remaining is from the state government and loans.

The first phase will be completed this year and the second phase within two years.

'So far, for many years, India has missed the boat, so to speak,' Howard Moon, an Australian yacht owner, was quoted as saying.

'Many yachts go to Sri Lanka because there is a small marina there. The Maldives has marinas. Malaysia, Thailand and every other country that I know has marinas. So, it is high time that India had a Marina.'

At present the cruising yachts need to berth their vessels in the backwaters and reach the shore in inflatable boats.

Seafarers from all over the world have visited the area and relied on the Bolgatty Palace Hotel for food, swimming and other needs.

It is estimated that cruising yachties generally spend an average of two weeks in Kochi, sight seeing, relaxing and carrying out necessary maintenance and the marina will make repairs and maintenance much easier.

The Marina will occupy five acres of land owned by the KTDC near the Bolgatty Palace Hotel. Supporting facilities like petrol stations, a restaurant, health club and car parking are likely to be built on land reclaimed from the backwaters.

Sailors – local and international – are said to be ecstatic over the project.

www.incredibleindia.org

by Jeni Bone
Marine Business News.com

Cochin Shipyard builds history

2008-06-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

By Sudha S Namboothiry
The Cochin Shipyard Ltd., the largest Greenfield shipyard in the country made history when five platform supply vessels were floated on June 2, 2008 at Cochin simultaneously. The ships launched were the seventh in a series of eight ships under construction for Deep Sea Supply, Norway, two out of 4 ships for M/s Hellespont Steamship corporation, Greece and M/s Tidewater Marine International Inc, USA. Cochin shipyard is one of the leading shipbuilding & repair yard in India, which has an infrastructure that combines economy, scale, and flexibility, and has ISO 9001 accreditation.

The yard is also constructing 20 similar ships for European/American clients valued at over Rs. 2000 crore. These projects are being undertaken exclusive of the Air Defence Ship for the Indian Navy which is also presently under construction. Cochin Shipyard’s proposal for creation of Small Ship Division has been approved by the Government. The project is expected to be completed by March 2009. On completion these facilities would help the shipyard to undertake concurrent construction of small commercial ships with the Aircraft carrier.

The attitude is well expressed in the message of the Shipyard Chairman & Managing Director Commodore Shri M.Jitendran, “Ours is an endeavor to emerge as an internationally competitive yard and facilitate the emergence of India as a dominant ship building and ship repair centre of the region. Cochin Shipyard promises quality service, outstanding workmanship, timely delivery, reliable personnel and excellent coordination that does not leave you feeling at sea ...” True to the message, the Shipyard is moving ahead in leaps and bounds to achieve its goal.

It has been a saga of records for the Shipyard since the past five years. Like a phoenix the Shipyard has arisen from its not-so-good times to a profit making company. The total turnover of the company has increased threefolds ie, from Rs.235 crore in 2002-03 to Rs.720 crore in the year 2006-07. Record ship building turnover of Rs.478 crore was achieved in the year 2006-07.

This achievement was again surpassed in 2007-08 with the shipbuilding income reaching Rs 600 crore(provisional). The performance of ship repair department has also been commendable and the Ship repair turnover crossed Rs. 240 crore mark in the year 2007-08. The net profit of the company registered a three fold increase in 2006-07 ie., from Rs. 18 crore in 2005-06 to Rs. 58 crore in 2006-07. The financial performance in the year 2007-08 is expected to surpass all previous records.

Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in the year 1972 as a fully owned Government company. In the last three decades the company has emerged as a forerunner in the Indian Shipbuilding & Shiprepair Industry. This yard can build and repair the largest vessels in India. It can build ships upto 1,10,000 DWT and repair ships upto 1,25,000 DWT.

The yard has many a feather on its hat like it has delivered two of India’s largest double hull Aframax tankers each of 95,000 DWT , has built various types of vessels including Tankers, Bulk Carriers, Port Crafts, Passenger Vessels etc. CSL has secured shipbuilding orders from internationally renowned companies from Europe & Middle East.

Shipyard commenced ship repair operations in the year 1982 and has undertaken repairs of all types of ships including upgradation of ships of oil exploration industry as well as periodical lay up repairs and life extension of ships of Navy, UTL, Coast Guard, Fisheries and Port Trust besides merchant ships of SCI & ONGC.

The yard has, over the years, developed adequate capabilities to handle complex and sophisticated repair jobs. It is ISO 9001-2000 certified for Design and manufacture of small & medium crafts upto 900 GRT , construction of ships upto 1,10,000 DWT, Repair of ships upto 1,25,000 DWT, Training of marine engineers & conducting of fire fighting courses. The Shipyard also trains graduate engineers to marine engineers who later join ships both Indian and foreign as 5th Engineers.

Sudha S Namboothiry is a Media & Communications Officer of PIB, Cochin
Commodity Online

Earthrace arrives in Cochin(Kochi) from Singapore for a re-fuelling

2008-06-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

>
Photo Courtesy US Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Shown here in Cochin, India
Credit: Lance Wordsworth/Earthrace

Earthrace, a 100 per cent bio-diesel powered boat on its quest to break the world record for the circum navigation of the earth, today called at the Cochin Port for repair and refuelling purposes
Bio-Fuels ForumPress Trust Of India
Kochi, June 14, 2008
First Published: 22:19 IST(14/6/2008)
Last Updated: 22:27 IST(14/6/2008
Earthrace, the Ecoboat, which is attempting to break the round-the-world speed record, arrived in Kochi for a re-fuelling.

The Earthrace, is a '78 feet wave piercing trimaran', a sailing boat like a catamaran but with three hulls, which runs exclusively on bio diesel and has net zero carbon footprints, thus making it one of the world's most environmentally friendly powerboats.

Pete Bethune, the captain, told reporters that the boat had covered about 19,300 nautical miles after it started off on its journey from Spain in April. The vessel arrived in Kochi from Singapore.

There are four crew members. While Paul alighted here, a new member David Howard joined the boat from Kochi. After nearly an hour, it left.

Bethune underwent liposuction to donate his own fat to be processed into biofuel. "The aim is to show to the world that the best technology can also be sustainable', he said.

Bethune auctioned off his home to fund the 1.5 million pound project.

Earthrace is attempting to break the world record set by Cable and Wireless in 1998.

Hindstan Times
Earthrace eco-boat aims for fastest refuelling
Friday, 13 June 2008, 10:26 am
Press Release: Earthrace

Earthrace eco-boat aims for fastest refuelling of world record attempt in India

London/Cochin (Kochi), 12 June 2008:

Earthrace, the world’s fastest eco-boat, is expected to arrive at Cochin Port on Saturday 14 June, for the tenth port stop of its world record attempt.

The boat, which is currently 1,700 miles ahead of the current world record holder, is currently battling Monsoon weather and 3m waves off the coast of Sri Lanka, and has reduced her speed to 16kn as a precaution against stressing the boat’s superstructure following major repairs in Singapore.

The crew are hoping for the fastest port stop in the race, aiming for a rapid 90 minute turnaround with the help of local supporters.

Earthrace is a 24m tri-hull wavepiercer that runs on biofuel and is on day 46 of its attempt to break the world record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe. The boat is currently 1,700 miles ahead of the world record pace, set by the British Cable and Wireless team in 1998.

The boat had sustained damage after hitting sea debris on departure from Palau and had to have its drive shaft and propeller replaced in Singapore. Although the crew remained ahead of the world record time, they lost about 1,500 miles from their lead. The speedy turnaround in Cochin will help the crew to claw back valuable time which was lost during these essential repair works.

The crew has relied on the generosity of a number of local companies that have stepped forward to help Earthrace have the fastest port stop in the race – a record within a record! The Cochin Port Trust, GAC Shipping Agents, Incredible India Tourism and Michaels Land Resort have all played a vital role in boosting Earthrace’s chances of smashing the world record.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the local support here in India,” said Skipper Pete Bethune. “If we manage to refuel the boat, stock up on provisions and get on our way again within the 90 minute target we’ll claw back some vital lost time.

“

We’re proud to be stopping in Cochin, as they have a strong connection to one of the greatest figures in nautical history. Vasco da Gama was the first person to ever circumnavigate the globe, and he died and was buried here in Cochin. We’re following in his footsteps over five centuries later, but with a couple of engines and a lot more horsepower!”

When Earthrace leaves Cochin it will head to Salalah, Oman, with British Guest Crew, David Howard, joining the team. Keep up-to-date with Earthrace’s progress via the live satellite tracker at www.earthrace.net

- ends -

Scoop.co.nz

The COCHIN Tapestry A Chronicle of a Cultural Melting Pot, A Cosmopolitan City and a Great Trading Centre.

2008-06-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

By K Kunhikrishnan

Cochin, described as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, was an important trading centre. Travellers and tradesmen of ancient times make copious reference to Cochin. Successive waves of migration over thousands of years made Cochin a cultural melting pot, a cosmopolitan city and a great trading centre.

The first European settlement in India was at Fort Cochin by the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and finally the British. It was during the British rule, in 1857 (when the rest of the country was convulsed by the uprising against their rule), that three like–minded British businessmen set up the Cochin Chamber of Commerce to safeguard their trading and commercial interests.

It grew into a vibrant institution and later got involved in issues that had a bearing on national economic policy, as revealed in the commemorative volume of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, A Journey Through Time — 1857-2007.

Compiled and edited by P Sethuram, M K Das and V N Venugopal, the book is in three parts. The first traces the history of the Chamber and the history and development of trade in Cochin. In the early days the role of the Chamber was mostly concerned with cargo export and import from the harbour. The history of the Chamber was entwined with that of the harbour. Legitimate business interests were the guiding principles of the Chamber, which became a member of the Madras Chamber of Commerce in 1920.

Since independence, the Chamber has been mainly interested in the principal export trade of the region like cashew, spices, marine products etc. and the plantation industry and in the common welfare of Cochin as an economic centre. Many stalwarts occupied positions of importance in transforming the Chamber into a dynamic forward-looking voluntary organisation. Each milestone of growth has been captured in the volume. The most informative part of the volume is the one dealing with Kerala’s economic history. which is unique. The welcome given to foreign traders was more an act of potential business, besides possible political and military help (p 158), thus negating the catholicism of the then rulers of Kerala.

It was the reciprocity of interests that got the better of any other consideration. The spinoff was cultural symbiosis. Though encomiums are paid in full to social development and land reforms, the moot point is whether the state has enhanced the productive sectors of the economy. The profile of trade unions and their godfathers spoiled the image of the state, which is still a land of hartals. The industrial policies were so heavily tilted in favour of labour that investors were apprehensive of a raw deal (190). Fiscal deficit is on the increase. Non-resident Keralites who work abroad are 1. 84 million and major numbers have moved only because of the lack of employment in the state. “Kerala crawls like the proverbial tortoise while the rest of the states run like the proverbial hare,” observes the author while analysing its problems with development policies. The maladies and stagnation of Kerala’s development have been analysed with a fine toothcomb, with deep insight and perception.

Kerala’s cultural heritage forms the final part of the volume. The resurgence of artistic forms during the last decade and the establishment of many institutions to promote them are positive factors. The literary history of Malayalam has been summed up and the names of legendary personalities mentioned. There are descriptions of the many art forms practised in various parts of Kerala. The social milieu deals with the caste and religion. The cultural tapestry chapter should have been part of the art forms. Among the illustrations, the colour photograph on theyyam is described as thira! The absence of an index is conspicuous in the otherwise laudable volume.

Kunhikrishnan is a former deputy director general of Doordarshan.
e-mail: kkunhikrishnan@gmail.com
The New Indian Express

TajSATS,(joint venture between Indian Hotels Company and Singapore Airport Terminal Services ) looking at tier II cities including Cochin

2008-06-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

TajSATS to set up 15 kitchens at Rs 400 cr
14 Jun, 2008, 0007 hrs IST,Shruti Jain Ambavat, ET Bureau

MUMBAI: TajSATS, a leading air catering service company, has embarked on an expansion plan to set up 15 kitchens in five years. The joint venture between Indian Hotels Company and Singapore Airport Terminal Services will pump in close to Rs 400 crore to finance the entire exercise.

Sunil Taneja, Marketing and Business Development director, TajSATS, said the decision followed the recent spurt in air catering business. “The air catering business grew 20% last year, riding on a 30% growth in passenger traffic,” he said.

The company has recently set up kitchens in Goa, Bangalore and Amritsar. It may be looking at tier II cities like Nagpur, Guwahati, Cochin, Amritsar, Calicut and Pune where the existing airports are being upgraded. TajSATS generates revenues of around Rs 300 crore, which is nearly half of the total industry’s figures. Other players in this space include Oberoi, Ambassador and Skygourmet.

Mr Taneja said the expansion plan will be funded internally. “We know that the margin is under pressure, but our overall business is expanding in India. We think that we will be the first choice if we have operations in tier II cities,” he added.
Economictimes.indiatimes.com

(CPPR) Center for Public Policy Research & (CSS) Center for Civil Society do study on Cochin Corporation and its Informal Sector License issuing

2008-06-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

Revealing the informal

The informal sector in Kerala is regulated by bureaucratic high-handedness. Various flaws exist in licensing of occupations like, auto-rickshaw driving, slaughtering, cobbling etc. Ironically, this state is pro-poor and is known for trade unionism..
THE LAST time I was in Cochin, I didn’t pay much attention to the auto-rickshaws plying on the city’s busy streets. They were just my sole means of conveyance. But on my next trip, I will. And you wonder why such a change in attitude! All credit goes to the law, liberty and livelihood project, a study conducted by think-tanks of the centre for public policy research (CPPR) and the centre for civil society (CCS).

The study, which was aimed at documenting the livelihood regulations and entry level barriers in the informal sector, was conducted in 63 cities across India with the help of young interns.

In Cochin, it was coordinated by the CPPR staffer Caroline C. The purpose aimed at unveiling the laws applicable to entry-level professions like cycle-rickshaw pullers, mobile and stationery street vendors and to document them with the effort to create public attention to issues faced by them. The study is funded by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), Mumbai.

There, the licencing of trades is regulated by the Corporation of Cochin under the purview of the Kerala municipalities Act and Rules 1994. The Corporation issues two types of licences; namely, dangerous and offensive trade licences, and prevention of food adulteration licence.

The fees for the same are fixed by the council. On a general platform, any one wishing to carry a trade on Cochin’s streets has to obtain prior permission from the municipality/corporation as per the Act and the trade must be registered 30 days before its commencement.

The same general application form is used for all trades, except an additional one for the prevention of food adulteration Act 1954 (PFA) for food trades. The following documents are required for a licence: Receipt of the building tax and an ownership certificate (proof of legal occupancy). If the shop is in rented premises, the applicant will have to submit a consent letter from the owner.

After the assessment of the application form, the concerned authorities will inspect the premises and if deemed fit, the licence is granted. The licence has to be renewed 30 days before the end of the financial year (March 31), after which a fine is imposed for late renewal.

An interesting fact was brought to light through the study: Small food courts, mobile vegetable vendors and cobblers in Cochin are not issued licences and the corporation considers them illegal.

The municipal secretaries and health officers are the concerned authority on health issues and food inspectors from the urban local bodies, on government notifications, collect samples of all food meant for sale and send them to Government Analysts. If any article is found adulterated, the persons concerned are prosecuted and fined under the provisions of the PFA.

And, in case, you happen to be a late eater, it’s wise that you grab your manna (eatables) early as it is mandatory that all shops close at 10pm. In the case of slaughter houses, the Corporation directly owns them and private ownership is not permitted. Nevertheless, tenders are invited from the general public to run them and butchering licences are issued for the same. No other person can slaughter any cattle, sheep, goat or pig for sale as food.

Moreover, no person is allowed to carry on the trade of a butcher, fishmonger or poulterer without a licence from the municipality. Cleanliness and health precautions are one of the main priorities of the corporation.

According to a tender issued, the slaughter rooms have to be cleaned at least twice a day. Each animal has to be certified by a veterinary surgeon or health officer, only after which it can be slaughtered.

Other than this, several other directions are issued by the Corporation for the smooth running of slaughterhouses. One such is the rule that large amounts of fresh water should be kept at the slaughter house at all times and that lungs and other animal wastes have to be disposed off within hours of the slaughtering.

Injured individuals, drunks, and persons having communicable diseases are not allowed in the slaughterhouse and, interestingly, if a dog is found in the premises, the owner is free to kill it without prior notice. The slaughterhouse can function only from 10am to 12am.

For auto-rickshaws, there are two types of permits: Regular city permits and prepaid city permits. Currently, the regional transport office (RTO), Cochin, which is the regulatory board, is not issuing the former, but only issues prepaid permits and renews those already given. The regional transport board has fixed a quota of rupees 3,600 for city permits.

Although, this was done to avoid overcrowding, it is actually causing a shortage of auto-rickshaws in the area. It, nevertheless, allows out-of-city permits in accordance with the provisions of sections 69, 73 and 80 of the motor vehicle Act of 1988.

To drive an auto-rickshaw, a person must submit an application form and submit the following requisites: Proofs of owned vehicle in the name of the applicant and address.. The applicant should be a permanent resident of the Cochin Corporation area. The issued permits allow the driver to take passengers only from areas within the permit and anyone found driving in the city without a permit will be fined a minimum of rupees 500.

As studies reveal, over 90 per cent of India’s work force earns its livelihood in the informal sector, which accounts for 63 per cent of the country’s GDP. As citizens of India, it’s high time we knew how things function in our country.

Gone are the days of oblivion and ignorance. Keeping this in mind, the project aimed at informing the public about the functioning of these trades and related aspects. With available documents relating to legal and governing factors, and with, the power of the Right to Information Act (RTI), the interns dug out details that would otherwise have been not known.
Merinews.com Power to the people

Cochin City launches Green Cover Project to maintain its Natural Beauty and Environment Friendly Atmosphere

2008-06-11T06:25:00.000-07:00

GREEN DRIVE: Forest Minister Benoy Viswom (in the background) applauds as Simon Britto, MLA, plants a sapling at Maharaja’s College on Monday as part of the college’s tree planting project for the city.

Green cover project for city
The idea is to have a green cover for Kochi. As the construction boom is turning the city into a multi-storeyed concrete jungle, the drive for tree canopies becomes more important. A project with such an aim took shape in the Nature Club of the Maharaja’s College and it began with a sapling being planted by Simon Britto, MLA, who had provided funds for the same.

The Minister for Forests, Binoy Vishwom, formally launched the project. The most effective way to clean the air of carbon dioxide is to have more trees. And the Department of Forests has been promoting a string of projects under the Social Forestry scheme.

On Environment Day, taking to the streets on cycles with a message of carbon-free transportation were representatives of Green Doctors — a youth forum of the Swadeshi Science Movement. A. Jayakumar, national organising secretary of Vijnana Bharathi, flagged off the rally from the High Court junction.

About 40 youngsters cycled around the city with an aim to spread the message of environment-friendly practices in daily life. Unfortunately, there were hardly any people on the road to witness the campaign, due to the hartal.

Some of the corporates, however, organised Environment Day a day later. The Recreation Club of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. organised a programme at which the principal general manager, Charlie Mathew, planted a sapling on the occasion. Thereafter, a lecture was held on the State government’s Clean Kerala Mission. The District Mission Coordinator, N. Vinodini, spoke on the topic.

Shyama Rajagopal

The Hindu

After Singapore Cochin is next destination for biofuel operated eco-boat Earthrace

2008-06-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

Earthrace powers on
Having successfully completed massive repairs, the world’s fastest eco-boat Earthrace has departed from Singapore to Cochin, India to complete its attempt to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat.

Earthrace, a 24m tri-hull wavepiercer that operates on biofuel, is still more than 1,550 miles ahead of the world record pace, set by the British Cable and Wireless team in 1998, despite the delays for repairs.

A number of companies, such as POSH SEMCO, Assetton and its project sponsor J B Global, stepped forward to provide Earthrace with support for expedient repairs for damages sustained in Palau, which were carried out in three days.

Skipper Pete Bethune said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity we’ve received in Singapore. After the accident in Palau we began to doubt whether we still had a shot at the world record, but now the boat is back in top shape and weather conditions for the leg to Cochin are great.”

Mr Bethune said the attempt was to show the world the potential for sustainable fuels and if the voyage proceeds as planned, Earthrace would be able to finish the trip 17 days ahead of the world record.

The boat’s up-to-date progress can be viewed via the live satellite tracker at www.earthrace.net.

Transport and Logistics News

Corporation of Cochin go in for credit rating to raise funds from the public in implementing its infrastructure projects by tapping markets

2008-06-10T05:03:00.000-07:00

Photo Inspire India Urban and Regional Projects
Kerala - Kochi

Civic body told to go in for credit rating

Staff Reporter

In a bid to raise funds by tapping markets

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Kochi Corporation has a triple B Minus rating

‘Rating can be improved with reforms’

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KOCHI: The Corporation of Cochin which is facing a severe fund crunch in implementing its infrastructure projects could soon take the credit rating route to raise funds from the public.

Union Urban Development Secretary M. Ramachandran said here on Monday that Kochi, which is now ranked somewhere in the middle category in credit rating with a triple B Minus rating, could improve its standing with performance on the reforms front. This can lead to a stage at which the Corporation would be able to go to the market to raise funds for its projects. The Kozhikode Corporation had raised money by issuing bonds way back in 1969, pointed out Mr. Ramachandran.

If Kozhikode could do it in 1969, Kochi can do it now, he said as he pointed to more recent examples of urban bodies in several parts of the country tapping the market to raise funds for their projects using their rating. The official said that the Union Urban Development Ministry had started preparations for a meeting of the Prime Minister with Chief Ministers later this year on issues related urbanisation.

The meeting would address concerns of various States and review of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), said the official.

He said that issues such as cost escalation, a major problem facing projects that have reached the implementation stage, would be addressed. The JNNURM programme had been envisaged to ensure participation from the local bodies and the State governments, said Mr. Ramachandran. He pointed out that had it not been for the JNNURM, several new projects would not have taken shape.

Mr. Ramachandran was speaking to reporters after he addressed a special meeting of the Kochi Corporation Council on the role of local bodies in implementing JNNURM. During the interaction, councillors raised the issue of escalating costs, problems related to land acquisition, etc. which were hurdles to implementing some of the JNNURM projects.
The Hindu

Lack of coordination between Cochin(Kochi's) civic bodies and traffic police results in traffic snarls

2008-06-10T04:54:00.000-07:00

Kerala - Kochi

Ineptitude of civic agencies causing traffic snarls

Staff Reporter

Widening of North, South bridges remains a far cry

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Demand to relocate bus stops, auto stands away from busy junctions

Many medians do not have proper reflectors, street lights, leading to accidents

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KOCHI: Lack of coordination between civic agencies and the traffic police to ensure smooth flow of traffic in the city during the monsoons has made commuting a nightmarish experience.

The reopening of schools and colleges has made things worse, with vehicles jostling for space in congested roads. The delay by the PWD and the Kochi Corporation in widening the North and South overbridges; the Greater Cochin Development Authority’s inability to relay the badly damaged Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road and the apathy of the Railways in building a 25-metre portion connecting the approach spans of the Pullepady overbridge have seriously affected traffic flow and eroded the credibility of these agencies.

On its part, the National Highways Authority of India has not even initiated the preliminary works to build flyovers at Palarivattom, Edappally, Kundanoor and Vytilla, despite motorists having to wait for around half an hour to cross these junctions during peak hours. The completion of these road, bridge and flyover projects would have eased traffic congestion in the city.

Police initiative

With the Corporation, PWD and the NHAI which are flush with funds not installing sign boards, bus bays and electronic signal systems, the traffic police began putting them up with the help of sponsors. Then came opposition from the Corporation, on the ground that it has the sole right to permit sponsors to display their advertisements.

A police officer termed this as dog-in-the-manger attitude. Motorists are not always happy with the traffic reforms being tried out by the police. The barricades put up at the western side of the South overbridge to prevent vehicles from side roads from entering the bridge, has come up for criticism. The police have been unable to prevail on civic agencies to relocate bus stops and auto stands away from junctions.

The fall in visibility because of the monsoons has also led to vehicles ramming into unlit medians at night. The Corporation has not cleared the slush that its workers dug out from drains, causing inconvenience to pedestrians.

The Hindu

Non-Resident Keralites open Carwash unit at Nettoor Cochin on the National Highway bypass

2008-06-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Business

Carwash unit opened

KOCHI: Master Motors, an enterprise of Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs), has opened the State’s first automated carwash unit at Nettoor on the National Highway bypass. Besides carwash, the unit also sells car décor, accessories, lubricants, car entertainment systems, anti-corrosive coating and protective sealant coating. The time taken for a carwash will be less than 10 minutes, the promoters said, adding that the cost would be just Rs.30 more than that charged by the traditional methods. Entertainment zones for kids, women and dormitory facilities are also provided to motorists. The promoters plan another unit at Kakkanad in the city, and also units in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Thrissur and Kozhikode. — Special Correspondent

Annual vendor meet

Kochi: Harrisons Malayalam Limited is celebrating its rubber outsourcing operations by organising the second annual business meet of its vendors on Saturday in Kochi. Vendors comprising estate owners, large and small dealers and entrepreneurs would be encouraged to develop quality consciousness at the meet, a press release said. — Special Correspondent

PCB award

Kochi: United Breweries Limited, Palakkad has won the State Pollution Control Award instituted by the State Pollution Control Board (PCB). Health Minister P.K. Sremathy gave away the award, a press release said. — Special Correspondent

Cochin Shipyard bags award

Kochi: Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has won the FACT-M.K.K. Nayar memorial productivity award for 2006-07 for achieving the highest productivity in the category of large industry. The award was given away by Industries Minister Elamaram Karim and received by K Subramanian, director (operations), on behalf of Cochin Shipyard Limited, a press release said. — Special Correspondent

The Hindu

Cochin(Kochi) is following Singapore model in dealing with its waste management

2008-06-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

Waste management law from June 1

Staff Reporter
KOCHI: Come June 1, Kochi city will have a legal framework to govern the entire gamut of the solid waste management process.

The bylaw, while defining the role of the civic authorities as well as residents, has also provided penal provisions for violations.

Kochi is the first city in the State to enact such a bylaw for governing the management of municipal solid waste.

Kochi has moved to the sophisticated way of treatment of the solid waste, leaving behind the crude practice of dumping it at landfills. The process of collection, transport and treatment needs to be systemised for the effective treatment of waste and the bylaw will provide the necessary legal guideline for the process, said civic authorities.

The penal provisions of the bylaw would act as a deterrent to the residents as well as visitors to the city, who throw waste around. The people should realise that they also have a responsibility in keeping the city clean, said Kochi Mayor Mercy Williams.

More than penalising the people, the provisions of the law are expected to persuade them to discontinue the practice of dumping waste in Kochi city. The people should move to responsible citizenship and realise that open dumping of waste is a disgraceful act, Ms. Williams said. Residents of the city have been following for decades the practice of throwing waste in public places. As the city takes to the modern way of garbage treatment, the attitude of the residents should also change. The bylaw is expected to bring in such attitudinal changes in the minds of the residents, said Mini Antony, secretary of the Kochi Corporation.

The Corporation will seek the support of the police in patrolling the streets and preventing open dumping of waste. Citizens’ squads will also be pressed into action for ensuring that waste is disposed of in a systematic way, Ms. Williams said.

The Hindu

Parallel roads are the key to decongesting Cochin(Kochi)

2008-06-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Parallel roads are the key

Shyama Rajagopal

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Several entry points to the city suggested

Urban master plan yet to be completed

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KOCHI: Town planning experts suggest that several entry points into a city area are a must for a bustling commercial place that is growing. However, Kochi city has grown over the last decade with only a few entry points into the main commercial area.

The North and South overbridges were the only two entry points though Thevara became another one because of the Kundanoor bridges. But, the traffic mostly travel across the first two bridges.

Development of a few parallel roads to the North-South corridor and the East-West corridors will decongest the arterial roads of the city considerably, said a town planner. Thammanam-Pulleppady Road is one such that was started with a big fanfare. However, this very important infrastructure remains unfinished as the rail overbridge is not completed.

The road would decongest a lot of traffic from Banerjee Road and M.G. Road as it would be an exit and entry point from the Kakkanad side. In fact, the Master Plan by the Town Planning department calls it the CBD-IT city road.

Likewise, there are other roads like Karshaka Road, Chilavanoor Bund Road, Salim Rajan Road and Kaloor-Kadavanthara-Pottekuzhi Road which when developed, will take away a major chunk of traffic from the main arterial roads like the Sahodaran Ayyappan Road, Chittoor Road and M.G. Road.

The Greater Cochin Development Authority had quite some time ago, developed detailed project reports for at least 16 corridors in the city. Similarly, roads leading to suburban areas such as Thripunithura are most congested with peak time traffic spilling over. People’s voices have been raised to develop the Kaniyampuzha Road from Vytilla to Eroor, Thripunithura, which would provide a parallel connectivity to the main town of Thripunithura as well.

A bridge from Maradu to Thripunithura, running parallel to the iron bridge and the Petta bridge would take traffic coming from Alappuzha side to Vaikom without touching Thripunithura town. However, the route of the road continues to be disputed. Infrastructure development is basically the government’s job and land acquisition for the same needs to be done much earlier so that there are few hurdles when a project is launched, said a town planning expert. But, as the Master Plan continues to be made over several years, the local bodies do not have a document to fall back upon.

The Hindu

Cochin needs massive investments in implementation of a number of projects

2008-06-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

ALMOST COMPLETE: The Pulleppady overbridge.
Massive investments in projects needed

K. A. Martin

Lack of urgency holds up implementation of a number of
KOCHI: Kochi’s urgent requirement for massive infrastructure development stands in sharp contrast with the snail pace of project implementation in the city. From the 12-year delay in developing Sahodaran Ayappan Road to taking steps suggested by Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) way back in April 1991, the city looks unable to catch up with its future.

Investments needed

Massive investments in a slew of projects, including the international container transshipment terminal, are knocking at Kochi’s doors and the crying need is for infrastructure like flyovers, rail overbridges and broader roads.

The Pulleppady rail overbridge, the key to linking the east and west halves of the city, awaits commissioning, three years after the completion of a major portion of the overbridge.

Twenty-five metres of the bridge remain to be completed by the Railways. Several other projects have not even been taken up despite their importance to the growth of the city.

This include the flyovers on National Highways at the Kundannoor, Vyttila and Palarivattam junctions.

Rail overbridges at Ponnurunny, Atlantis and Vaduthala-Pacchalam too need to be taken up in a time-bound manner.

Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Limited (RBDCK), the infrastructure development agency, has prepared plans for developing the flyovers at Vyttila and Palarivattam. The proposals are before the Government, said R. Sreelekha, managing director of RBDCK.

Roundabout

The proposal for an elevated roundabout was proposed at Pachalm to ease congestion in Pachalam and Vaduthala areas.

Applications for approval of the project is pending with the Railways and Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organization (KITCO) had drawn up a plan for a roundabout with connections to Marine Drive, Kaloor, NH 17, Goshree Bridges and Chittoor and Mathai Manjooran roads.

Ms. Sreelekha said that RBDCK had run into trouble with the Pulleppady rail overbridge as it had its money locked up. RBDCK had paid about 80 per cent of value of the land that was acquired for the project.

The money was part of the Rs. 56-crore loan availed from Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco).

The mode of repayment of the loan was through the toll collection which has now been delayed. About the Atlantis rail overbridge, the RBDCK official said that land acquisition would be a costly process for the project. The project has remained in its proposal stage.

Ponnurunny

Land acquisition process for the Ponnurunny rail overbridge is nearly complete, said Ms. Sreelekha.

This is a project that involves the Railways. RBDCK has spent Rs. four crore in land acquisition and having had the Pulleppady experience, RBDCK appears to be hesitant in starting the work.
The Hindu

Cochin has many more infrastructure projects to be taken up like widening of Elamkulam bridge

2008-06-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Elamkulam bridge to be widened soon

K.S. Sudhi

Many more infrastructure projects to be taken up

KOCHI: The widening of the bridge near Elamkulam along the Sahodaran Ayyappan road, the first road infrastructure project to be implemented for Kochi, will begin within a fortnight.

Kochi is banking heavily on the projects that are implemented with the support of the Asian Development Bank and the ones sanctioned by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for materialising its infrastructure dreams. Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) is the nodal agency for the projects sanctioned by the two agencies.

The Rs. 3.5 crore-bridge widening project at Elamkulam will be completed within 18 months. The project is expected to ease the traffic along the road by widening the road and bridge in the area, according to authorities.

Other than the bridge widening project, projects for widening some of the important roads connecting major roads and those between MG road and Chittoor roads have also been planned. These projects will be implemented without acquiring any land. The improvement of the inter-connecting roads will be taken up by the KSUDP. The following are the roads that would be benefited from the scheme:

Karshaka Road (first 150 metres from South Road overbridge), Palarivattom-Vyttila road, Chittoor road, road between MG road and Chittoor road from Padma junction, road between MG road and Chittoor road from Ground Junction, road between MG road and Chittoor road from KSRTC junction, road between MG road and Chittoor road from Jose junction, Thoppumpady-Paravana-Fort Kochi road, Paravana-Mattanchery, TD road, Church landing road, Durbar Hall road and Mullassery canal road.

The KSUDP has also proposed six projects for improving key traffic junctions in the city. The junctions that have been identified for the project are the following: Jose junction, Maharaja College junction, Padma junction, Kacheripady junction, Park Avenue with Hospital Road Junction and Kathrikadavu junction.

The Rs. 9.78 crore surface water drainage scheme proposed for Kochi has failed to evoke much enthusiasm like the Rs. 131 crore Basic Services to the Urban Poor scheme. It is the escalating cost of building materials, it is learnt, that has been discouraging the contractors from taking up the projects.

Proposals for setting up conventional water supply scheme, seawater desalination project, a special water supply scheme for Eloor, Kalamassery and Rain Water harvesting are also in the pipeline. A major sum has been spent already by the authorities towards the setting up of the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant.

The Hindu

Aircraft training institute at CIAL on anvil

2008-06-04T06:11:00.000-07:00

GURUVAYUR: The infrastructure of the Cochin International Airport can be utilised for moulding professionals in the field of civil aviation, Cochin International Airport Authority (CIAL) Managing Director Krishnadas Nair said here on Tuesday.

The proposal for a training institute imparting PG Diploma courses and certificate courses related to aircraft is being initiated at CIAL.

The proposed CIAL institute will be beneficial for the students of the state who are now depending on private institutions for job-oriented courses related to aircraft with very higher fees.

The proposal is at the initial stage and details regarding the institute, courses and syllabus will be worked out, Krishnadas Nair said. The CIAL MD was here to offer prayer at Sree Krishna temple.

New Indian Express

Cochin Shipyard to launch five platform supply vessels

2008-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Kochi, May 31 (IANS) Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), one of the leading shipbuilding yards in the country, will launch five platform supply vessels (PSVs) Monday. The PSVs include Sea Turbot for Deep Sea Supply, Norway, Hellspont Daring and Hellspont Dawn for Hellspont Steam Ship, Greece, and Oliver Tide and Davidson Tide for Tide Water Marine, the US.

In a release issued here Saturday, the company said the vessels were designed in a way that would satisfy specific demands of transport of deck cargo, pipes, liquid cargo, cement/barite, unloading to rigs, production platforms and pipe-laying barges.

The vessels have been designed using Rolls Royce ship technology and all the five PSVs will be delivered between August and December 2008.

CSL commenced the ship building operations in 1978, ship repair in 1981, marine engineering training in 1993 and offshore upgradation in 1999.

As a technology leader in India, CSL has adopted the Japanese Integrated Hull Outfitting and Painting system (IHOP) for its new construction works.

A CSL official told IANS that the total cost of production of each vessel is $20 million and it was completed in a matter of six months.

“Some more outside work for the vessels is left and it would be done during the trial runs and then delivery would begin. Presently, we have orders for 20 PSVs for foreign owners valued at Rs.20 billion. We have also commenced construction of aircraft carrier for Indian Navy,” said the official.

Thai Indian.com

COCHIN AEROTROPOLIS RAILWAY STATION CAN BE A NEW RAILWAY HUB FOR COCHIN CITY

2008-05-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

CIAL’S AEROTROPOLIS(Airport City would be ideal for a new railway hub which has space for development in between the two small towns of Aluva and Angamaly and all trains headed south to Cochin will come through the Aerotropolis Station which would be ideal once it is connected to the Cochin Metro Rail.

KOCHI: There is an increasing demand to develop the railway stations at Thripunithura and Kalamassery, considering the eastward growth of Kochi city.

The demand has gained strength in the context of numerous residential areas coming up on the city’s east. Shops and business establishments too have been shifting to places such as the NH bypass, Kalamassery, Kakkanad and Thripunithura. This has resulted in thousands of people residing and working in these places being forced to endure maddening traffic snarls in the city and unnecessarily spending time and money to reach the two major railway stations – the Ernakulam Town and Junction stations.

The development of Thripunithura and Kalamassery stations would also mean fewer vehicles on the road, since vehicles taking train commuters to the two city stations will be off the roads.

The Kalamassery Pourasamity recently demanded that the Kalamassery railway station be developed and more trains allotted a stop there. A delegation led by K Chandran Pillai, MP, met Railway Board Chairman K.C. Jena and submitted a memorandum demanding that Railways deploy a high-level team to study the need to stop more trains at the station. For residents of Thripunithura, commuting by train to Kottayam is easier than travelling to Kochi through congested roads. Railways must develop it as a major station and more trains must be allotted a stop here, said S. Ramakrishnan, physiotherapist at Kottayam Medical College.

Divisional Railway Manager Titus Koshy said though developing the two stations is ideal, there has to be an assurance on the financial returns.

“Many of the travellers are season ticket holders. Railways will have to spend quite a high amount on bettering the facilities. Under the present circumstances, it would be ideal if feeder buses run from different places in the city to the two major stations,” Mr Koshy said.

The Hindu

Collector orders speeding up of work on Edappally overbridge

2008-05-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

Staff Reporter

The work is 45 days behind schedule

KOCHI: District Collector M. Beena has directed the officials to step up the construction work of the Edappally railway overbridge.

Talking at a review meeting held on Friday, Dr. Beena directed the public works department officials and the contractor concerned to avoid the delay and to complete the work as per the original schedule.

The work on the Edappally railway overbridge is 45 days behind the original schedule.

As per the contract, the overbridge with 30 spans is to be completed within a 15-month period by installing two spans in a month. The contractor had originally agreed to complete the work by March 2009.

He has reportedly agreed to make up for the delay in August and to stick to the original schedule. The contractor has asked for an enhancement in the rate considering the cost escalation on account of the increase in prices of construction materials as also the labour cost. The Collector agreed to bring the demand to the notice of the government. Reviewing the progress of the work of the Pullepady railway overbridge, Dr. Beena directed the Kochi Corporation and the Roads and Bridges Corporation to hasten the land acquisition measures.

Of the 70 landowners, land had already been acquired from 40. Compensation had been paid in 80 per cent of cases and another Rs. 1 crore is required for paying the remaining 20 per cent landowners. The meeting asked the Kochi Corporation to raise Rs. 5 crore, including Rs. 4 crore for acquiring land from the remaining 30 owners, for completing the acquisition process.

K. Soman, Superintendent Engineer, Public Works Department (National Highway section); K.K. Prahladan, Executive Engineer; and others attended the meeting
The Hindu

Bahrain Air launches maiden service from CIAL(Cochin International Airport)

2008-05-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

Aluva, May 27 : The launching of flight service in the Bahrain-Kochi sector by Bahrain Air would further strengthen the bond between Kerala and Bahrain where a large number of Keralites were employed, Kerala Fisheries Minister S Sharma said.

Inaugurating the service from Kochi to Bahrain at Kochi International Airport at Nedumbassery yesterday, he said it would immensely help Keralites employed in Bahrain.

About 162 passengers, including mediapersons and a high-level delegation of Bahrain Air, arrived here in the first flight and nearly 80 passengers left for Bahrain by the return flight.

Addressing the gathering, Bahrain Air Managing Director Ibrahim A Alhamer said it would launch daily service in Bahrain-Kochi sector by the end of this year. At present the airline was operating services on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

He said flight service to Jeddah and Saudi Arabia would begin on June 10.

With the presence of Bahrain Air, the Kochi International Airport would have 18 airlines operating their services to various destinations, Airport Director A C K Nair said, adding the airport would be expanded to meet the tremendous growth in both passenger and flight services.
--- UNI

New Kerala.com

Cochin Minerals board to consider dividend

2008-05-20T05:42:00.000-07:00

Cochin Minerals & Rutiles announced that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on May 23, 2008, for considering the audited accounts for the year ended Mar. 31, 2008, and also to consider recommending a dividend.

Cochin Minerals & Rutile registered a steep drop of 85.61% in net profits of Rs 3.30 million for the quarter ended in December 2007 from a profit of Rs 22.93 million for the quarter ended in December 2006.

Net Sales quarter rose 2.40% to Rs 240.19 million for the quarter ended December 2007 from Rs 234.57 million for the quarter ended December 2006.

Shares of the company declined Rs 0.4, or 0.74%, to trade at Rs 53.8. The total volume of shares traded was 9,607 at the BSE. (3.32 p.m., Tuesday)
My Iris

Reliance auto-LPG outlets

2008-05-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

KOCHI: Reliance Industries Limited has said that auto LPG is available at petrol pumps of the company located at Thuravoor, Changanasserry, Vyttila-Thripunithura road, Karukutty (Angamaly), Kottakkal, Pala and Palakkad. Five more auto LPG facility will be opened shortly in petrol pumps located at Mini Bypass Kozhikode, Mannur road in Kozhikode, Kakkakanad (opposite Cochin SEZ), Thodupuzha and MC Road in Koothattukulam. More details can be had from telephone 0484 – 4478911, says a press release. – Special Correspondent

Book released

KOCHI: Adult Faculties has released a thesaurus of descriptive English. Authored by Prof. Kev Nair, the book is claimed to be the first adverb-wise compilation of verbs and adjectives giving adverb plus verb combinations and adverb plus adjective combinations, says a press release. – Special Correspondent

Elected to ICBF

KOCHI: Dr Mohan Thomas of Qatar has been elected president of the Indian Community Benevolent Fund (ICBF), working under the aegis of the Indian Embassy, says a press note. He is also the chairman of the Birla Public school and a past president of the Indian Medical Association. – Special Correspondent

Eco-friendly bags

KOCHI: Varkey’s supermarkets in Kerala would distribute goods through eco-friendly bags to combat plastic menace, says a press release. Instead of plastic carry-bags, the supermarket chain would be giving away eco-friendly bags to consumers. Kochi Mayor Mercy Williams inaugurated the programme here recently. – Special Correspondent

The Hindu

Kerala to start new company to attract NRI investment

2008-05-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Saturday announced that the government would soon start a new company in which non-resident Indians from Kerala can invest.

'This is being discussed and soon we will let you know the details,' said Achuthanandan interacting to reporters on the eve of his completion of two years in office.
The Achuthanandan-led Left Democratic Government was sworn in May 18, 2006.
Sheela Thomas, chairman of Roots-Norka, the state government company that looks after the needs of non-resident Indians from Kerala, said the name of the proposed company would be announced soon.
'It would be a company wherein NRIs can invest and would be assured a good return. The company will use the funds and would invest it in ventures where there would be a good returns,' said Thomas.
The state has nearly two million people settled abroad, mostly in the Gulf countries.
Big News Network

CIAL should create COCHIN AEROTROPOLIS PROJECTS LIMITED a Special Purpose Vehicle or Subsidiary for Developing a AEROTROPOLIS

2008-05-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

CIAL and adjoining areas are witnessing a flurry of construction activity.Going by the huge swing in the property market in the area, the development around the airport is going to completely change the surroundings. It has already changed the face of the place

Google Earth image of the aerotropolis built around the Hong Kong International Airport
A picture of the COCHIN AEROTROPOLIS Region from Google Earth

An artists sketch of how an AEROTROPOLIS looks like.

Aerotropolises throughout the globe in various phases of development

Dr. John Kasardas architectural drawing of an AEROTROPOLIS

A picture of an already existing AEROTROPOLIS

CIAL which is planning to tap the equity market with IPO's next year need to form a Joint Venture, Subsidiary or Special Purpose Vehicle to execute its proposed AEROTROPOLISThe SPV should be called

COCHIN AEROTROPOLIS PROJECTS LIMITED
A Special Purpose Vehicle comprising of real estate and infrastructure companies,L&T,INKEL A NRK funded PPP ENTERPRISE with technical partners like Changi Airport, Dubai World Central to create industrial and social infrastructure.The GMR Group and many other companies can invest in the aerotropolis and its various subprojects. INKEL has a strong capital base of Non Resident Keralites.To develop an entire satellite sub-city—houses, offices, factories, hotels, leisure. It will serve the airport and the airport will serve it.A "CITY BY ITSELF" A PRODUCTIVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN CIAL,REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS AND THE NEIGHBORING MUNICIPALITIES OF ALWAYE,ANGAMALI,NORTH PARUR,PERUMBAVOOR ETC. It will shape and drive economic activity in the region.Industrial and IT Park,aircraft maintenance,megaplexes, repair and overall facility (MRO)which can be a spv or get investments from BOEING and GE AVIATION, aviation academy ,a health city, a captive power plant, manufacturing units and a rail-road terminal,star/budget hotels, logistics hub and center,18 hole golf course, residential township , retail centre, Star Hotels,Aviation Park,Hardware Park, Convention Centre/Exhibition Center, Amusement Park, cultural village, specialty hospital, educational institutions, Multi-Modal Transportation System( MMTS), Mono Rail Transport System (MRTS) preferably called the Cochin Air Metro which makes frequent stops around the airport — including the airline terminals, parking lots, hotel shuttle areas as well as remote areas.Bombardier Transportation should be the technical partner for the Cochin Air Metro.
Airport Shuttle buses that will ferry passengers to and from the airport from the designated 15 locations in the city,Dedicated Airport Train from city to Airport,Intermodal Transportation International Schools

CIAL’S AEROTROPOLIS(Airport City)
An economic development strategy of the 21st century now includes the planned AEROTROPOLIS, an aviation linked urban form consisting of an airport surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of light industrial space, office space, upscale retail mix, business-class hotel accommodations, restaurants, entertainment, recreation, golf courses, and single and multiple-family housing.
AIRPORTS AS CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS (CBD)

This new urban form has become a reality through the transformation of business from ground transport to air transport. The airport has become the Central Business District (CBD) providing employment, shopping, entertainment, and business meeting destinations, and spin-off businesses have sprung up around this new CBD in clusters of both radial and string formations.

PLANNING AND DESIGN

Planning and Design for the Aerotropolis includes European-style traffic circles, visually appealing architecture, integration of open space and active recreation, and mixed use development.

CORPORATE BENEFITS
The creation of an Aerotropolis provides a region with the ability to attract corporations that rely on time-sensitive manufacturing, e-commerce fulfillment, telecommunications, and have air-travel intensive professionals by providing convenient access to air travel transport to national and international locations.

COMMUNITY BENEFITS
Expected returns for a community with the development of an Aerotropolis include an international business presence; an increase in tax base; an increase in travelers to the region; construction jobs; a high-income white-collar work force covering office, research, technology, retail and commercial; and an increase in local material purchases. Local spending will increase with the aerotropolis becoming a destination place for business, and travelers visiting the area for purposes other than business will partake of shopping and attractions that are provided.

COMPANIES RECOGNIZE NEED FOR SPEED, AGILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY
Since business is now global, the successful business of the 21st century will be one that recognizes the importance of speed, agility and accessibility in providing products and services to their customers.

There has been a shift in the past 20 years from price and quality to speed. Alfred Taubler describes evidence of this in his 1990 publication Power Shift. Taubler states that competition is now based upon "survival of the fastest".

Companies must recognize that change is constant, and be ready to adapt to change with production flexibility and product customization. This agility combined with shipment speed is mandatory.

Air commerce has changed the local and national focus of business to an international and global audience and customer base. Companies must place themselves in a physically advantageous position to take advantage of air travel for expeditious delivery of goods

A destination in itself and create a premier business, retail and entertainment hub. This area should be a well balanced mix of office parks, retail and entertainment and hospitality. The Aerotropolis concept was developed by John D. Kasarda, an American academic. An Aerotropolis is a city in which the layout, infrastructure, and economy are centered around a major airport. Experts in the field are of the opinion that Airports will shape business location and urban development in this century as much as seaports did in the 18th century, railroads did in the 19th century and highways in the 20th century. Macroeconomic as well as microeconomic factors should be taken into consideration when building the Aerotropolis. There should be the targeted usage mix as well as the targeted development timelines for the Airport City. The Aerotropolis should be a well planned city like Chandigarh. Perhaps this Aerotropolis would hopefully become a benchmark in urban planning, unlike the planning mishap that is called Cochin now. An Aerotropolis is a new urban infrastructure form comprising aviation-intensive businesses and related enterprises extending up to 25 km outward from a major airport. It is similar in form and function to a traditional metropolis, which contains a central city core and its commuter-linked suburbs, much like Cochin and its satellite towns. For an Aerotropolis to develop around Cochin, we need to plan carefully. This would require adequate infrastructure inside the airport — such as cold storage facilities, cargo centre — to cater to industry outside. Similarly, we need to develop the infrastructure outside the airport such as roads and rail connectivity. carefully planned Aerotropolis around Cochin can “improve Kerala’s supply-chain networks and business competitiveness, boost agricultural, manufacturing and services exports, attract tourists and new foreign investment, and position the region as the 21st century air commerce crossroads of south Asia”. While the Aerotropolis have their merits, it requires comprehensive planning for effective construction and execution of such projects. For the concept of Aerotropolis to take off in India, the government would need to integrate airport planning with urban & regional planning and business cities planning

Similarly, an Aerotropolis has an ‘airport city’ at its core, which comprises retail malls; leisure and culture centers such as spas, museums, regional art; logistics and air cargo; hotels and entertainment; office and retail complexes, and is surrounded by clusters of aviation-related enterprises. Experts argue that Aerotropolis have significant economic impact extending up to 90 km. “Just as you have central cities and the greater metropolis, you now have airport cities and greater Aerotropolis,” said University of North Carolina Professor John D Kasarda, who pioneered the concept. Aerotropolis are powerful engines of local economic development, attracting air-commerce-linked businesses to the land surrounding major airports, analogous to the function of central business districts in the downtown areas of major cities.

Aerotropolises typically attract industries related to time-sensitive manufacturing, e-commerce fulfillment, telecommunications and logistics; hotels, retail outlets, entertainment complexes and exhibition centers; and offices for business people who travel frequently by air or engage in global commerce. Clusters of business parks, logistics parks, industrial parks, distribution centers, information technology complexes and wholesale merchandise marts locate around the airport and along the transportation corridors radiating from them.

FOR CIAL’S AEROTROPOLIS TO BE VIABLE

Globally, most airports operate on 60:40 split between city-side and air-side revenues.

Improved connectivity to and from the city. Metro rail must reach CIAL, along with the Railway station and boat terminals planned. Now CIAL set about making its foundations stronger, in other words strengthening its commercial background. In early 2000 Cochin was still struggling to shrug off its tag as a small city, a mini-metro, even though it constituted the industrial backbone of Kerala. The idea of a SEZ, with CIAL and the proposed Container Terminal in Vallarpadam as fulcrum was mooted. The new road connecting the two focal points was inaugurated in 2003, christened the Seaport-Airport Road. This highway is already rewriting the horoscope of Cochin and in the next phase it will connect the IT City blossoming on its corridors to the Airport. It should also have pipeline and fiber optic cable laid underneath it before the completion of its second and third phase. As a result of the InfoTech revolution that Cochin is going through and the increased use of water, natural gas, petroleum, and such petroleum products as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel, the demand and the urgent need for more fiber optic cable and pipelines has increased.. They also transport finely ground particles of coal, iron ore, and limestone that are used for various purposes. In addition, pipelines carry industrial waste and sewage. The gas service lines or pipeline distribute gas to millions of home users. CIAL should approach the state government to change the name of Nedumbaserry panchayat to CIAL NAGAR, VIMANA NAGAR or AEROTROPOLIS. The Aerotropolis project should also include a SEZ, a captive power plant, a health city, road and rail terminals, an international school, and a residential area. There should be a "airport village" with a local flavor complete with shops and a 2,500 sq m, post-terminal airport retail village. There should be an aviation park outside the airport area as well as a hardware park close to the airport. A first of its kind elevated expressway should be planned to help passengers reach from the city centre or places like the NH-47 and NH-17 Junction Edapally along with an expanded 6 lane NH road which takes passenger to the new airport from the city within minutes. The Aerotropolis should be conceptualized and made available in a phased manner. The 6 lane NH Road will go from the AEROTROPOLIS through ATHANI,MANJALI up to NH 17. From there it will continue as a expressway that goes up to the Cochin NH 47 Byepass , it can also be extended to the proposed Pachalam Roundabout which will have the following connections 1) An arm towards Marine Drive 2) An arm towards Kaloor 3) An arm towards NH 17 4) An arm towards Gosree Bridges 5) A connection between Chittoor Road and Mathai Manjooran Road. In view of the coming up International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadam this roundabout is strategically important.Two National highways NH 47 and NH 17 join the Bye Pass Jn at Edappally.The Byepass connects Edappaly with Aroor which is an industrial town of Cochin, south of Aroor is the emerging satellite township of Cherthala and Alleppey the Venice of the East. Bye-Pass Junction in Edappally is the north end of the Cochin Byepass which extends up to Aroor via Vytilla Jn. This entire route is evolving into a major business hub with bigtime shopping malls and five star hotels. Another is a expressway going east from the Aerotropolis via Kalady, to Anamudi the highest point in South India connecting spiritual and tourist destinations like Kalady, Malayatoor,Athirpally, Bhoothathankettu Dam, Thattekad Bird Sanctuary,Munnar and Thekkady on the way to Anamudi in the High Ranges. It would serve a similar purpose to the Airport Seaport Road which connect various industrial regions. The Aerotropolis Anamudi expressway would be boost for Kerala Tourism. Also the Aerotropolis should have a MMTS.

A technology center, which will house research campuses for global corporates, should be in the plan ,in it there should also be some office spaces, service apartments, and healthcare and supporting retail spaces. The technology centre should be located at the entry to the airport on the main access road. There should also be a separate business unit will house prime office space, two hotels (three- and four-star) and again more retail spaces. The AEROTROPOLIS should also have a downtown area which ideally should be the closest to the terminal building making it interesting to the airport user. The Downtown area should be positioned as a typical urban entertainment centre with retail formats and food courts, leisure and entertainment spaces, multiplexes, health and wellness facilities, a five-star hotel and some office space This part will should also have an airport visitor center. Even though CIAL already has hotels in its vicinity CIAL should select the TAJ GROUP and the OBEROI GROUP to operate first class international hotels. The hotels should be within walking distance from the terminal building and should comprise of 321 keys, large conference facilities and a world class spa.

CIAL’s AEROTROPOLIS should have these essential components

An extensive study should be conducted by a leading independent property consultant taking into account both macroeconomic as well as microeconomic factors. There should be a targeted usage mix as well as the targeted development timelines for the Airport City. The following components should be conceptualized based on the urban as well as test planning for the Airport City

1. DOWNTOWN AREA

This area should be the closest to the terminal building and will be positioned as a typical urban entertainment center . It will house a shopping area with various retail formats, entertainment facilities, offices and hospitality facilities.

A Downtown area can address the time of passengers, meters and greeters who arrive early to the airport. Additionally, due to the Downtown Area being closely linked to the Business Unit Area will help attract additional footfalls from the offices.

An ‘Airport Visitor Centre’ should be planned opposite the Downtown area. Here, visitors will have the opportunity to observe the airport operations and combine this experience with travel, entertainment and business or simply as an independent visit.

The Downtown area should be developed in a phased manner through a tender process by one developer. It will have its own metro station once the Cochin metro network is connected to the Airport. The Downtown should also be the new home of the Ernakulam District Court which is currently occupying the old collectorate building in Ernakulam.Having the court located in the Aerotrolises will generate more non aeronautical revenue.

2. BUSINESS UNIT

This area should lie between the Downtown area on the eastern side and the Middle area on the western side. It should house a business park for premium office space and will consist of support retail, a 3 star and a 4 star hotel.

The connection to the area should be through the central access road on its north side and through the southern main road on its south side.

The Business Unit area should be developed in a phased manor through a tender process by one developer.

3. TECHNOLOGY CENTRE

This area should be located at the entry of the Airport on the main access road. The Technology Centre can be a hub for global corporates who will have the option to establish research campuses for highly qualified personnel. The Technology Centre area can also house healthcare, support retail and hospitality services.CIAL should execute land lease agreements with the corporates who will then design their facility with the preferred developers according to their needs

4. MIDDLE AREA

This area should exactly between the Business Unit and the Technology Center. This area of approximately 15 acres of land should be used as a park area with recreation facilities for the visitors as well as the employees. It can be reserved for a possible taxiway connection between the two runways in future

The airport city should have more hotels complimenting one another, along with destination retail, serviced apartments, office park, software campuses and a lot of free public spaces, which will make it a truly global enclave. To supplement its already existing cargo operations CIAL should build and operate two state-of-the-art general cargo warehouses for both domestic and international cargo with an initial capacity to handle 300,000 mt of cargo per year, collectively.
This ambitious goal will not happen overnight, and it will not happen without the continued commitment and engagement of the region’s public and private sector leaders. The project is too big for any one community to tackle alone — the development should be spread over multiple parcels and multiple jurisdictions and be a partnership between local communities,universities,private and non profit partners.
AEROTROPOLIS EXAMPLES

Newark Aerotropolis
Singapore Changi
Aerotropolis
Amsterdam Schipol Aerotropolis
Nagpur's MIHAN AEROTROPOLIS

Nacil, Cial lock horns over pending charges

2008-05-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

Trading charges: Vehicles line up in front of the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery in Kochi. Nacil won a 10-year contract from Cial in 1999 for ground handling facilities at the airport. Photo: Manoj Madhavan / Mint
Builder of international airport at Kochi says ground handling agency owes it around Rs45 cr as per the original deal
Cial may now move over the issues as it might wipe out the firm’s profit at the airport
Mumbai: Adispute over ground handling charges between Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial) and National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil), which runs Air India, could impact margins of the company that built the international airport at Kochi.
Cial says Nacil, the ground handling agency at the airport, owes it about Rs45 crore, calculated on the original deal that the national carrier would charge private airlines Rs60,000 per flight.
Trading charges: Vehicles line up in front of the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery in Kochi. Nacil won a 10-year contract from Cial in 1999 for ground handling facilities at the airport. Nacil says it is not bound to pay that amount because private airlines are paying it only Rs30,000-35,000 per flight. It adds that it has paid all dues till date based on the remittances received from carriers the company handled at the airport.
Cial may move court over the issue as it might wipe out the firm’s profits at the airport, said a person close to the development, who did not want to be identified.
Nacil won a 10-year contract from Cial in 1999 for ground-handling, which includes cleaning of cabins, check-in counter services and guiding aircraft on the ground.
If Cial fails to get its claims from Nacil, it will severely hurt profits. Its annual report for 2006-07 says, “Pending finalization of the same, the income for the year has been provisionally computed by the company at Rs17.25 crore and taken credit for in the accounts, which is subject to changes on final settlement with Air India. As on 31 March 2007, the company has to receive an aggregate amount of Rs28.40 crore from Air India on this account.”
Cial, promoted by the Kerala government, financial institutions, airport service providers, non-resident Keralites and a group of entrepreneurs, had posted a profit after tax of Rs37.50 crore for 2006-07, against Rs31.60 crore for the previous year, on a turnover of Rs112 crore.
“One can understand Nacil failing to get agreed amount from Jet Airways. There was an unresolved case in the court. But Nacil has even failed to charge the same from Indian Airlines, which is in the fold of Nacil. Because of this dues of about Rs45 crore, Cial is also bearing the interest cost since it had borrowed from financial institutions,” the person close to the development said. Cial may now move over the issues as it might wipe out the firm’s profit at the airport
A Nacil executive said on condition of anonymity that it has been billing the airlines at the stipulated rate of Rs60,000 for handling medium aircraft such as Boeing B737 or Airbus A320, but carriers such as Jet Airways have been paying it only Rs35,000.
“Cial’s claim as on 31 March 2007 from Nacil was Rs30 crore. However, Nacil has paid Cial all dues till date based on the gross turnover concept, that is based on remittances received from the carriers handled at the airport. We had informed about this to Cial,” the executive said.
“The remaining amount will be paid only as and when the carriers pay as per the billed amount,” he added.
A senior Jet Airways executive said he cannot comment as the issue regarding ground handling is sub judice.
Ground-handling fees at Kochi, even at Rs35,000 per flight, are significantly higher than Rs18,000 and Rs2,500 airports at Bangalore and Mumbai charge.
Recently, two so-called budget carriers—SpiceJet Ltd and Go Airlines (India) Pvt. Ltd—withdrew their Kochi flights citing high ground handling charges among other reasons.
LIVEMINT.COM

Navy's indigenous carrier building project at Cochin is on as per the schedule and the ship is expected in 2012.

2008-05-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

More greenfield projects for Navy: Mehta

Press Trust of India / New Delhi May 09, 2008

To strengthen Indian Navy, more greenfield projects were needed to enhance production of vessels, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta said today.

"The Ministry of Shipping is setting up one ship building yard on each of the two coasts (east and west). Somebody must set up more greenfield projects for ship building as operational yards as the Mazgaon Docks Limited have limitations (of capacity)," Admiral Mehta said, after the conclusion of a two-day Naval Commanders Conference.

"We will also see more of private partnerships in the area", he said, adding that construction major L&T has expressed interest in putting up such a project and have plans to place orders with the company in the near future.

Ideally, the country needs two operational aircraft carriers and other ships. Efforts are on to have three aircraft carriers in the fleet while 34 ships and six submarines are already being constructed to take the total number of ships to 160, he added.

He further said that right now the country does not have an operational aircraft carrier and the situation could have been averted, had aircraft carrier 'Vikramaditya' arrived on time. The ship is expected from Russia in three years' time.

The indigenous carrier building project at Cochin is on as per the schedule and the ship is expected in 2012. "The facility is expected to be used as a permanent carrier building line and will produce a carrier after the completion of the first ship. One more will be ready by the time 'Vikramaditya' retires," he said.

The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov (re-christened as Vikramaditya) is currently undergoing refurbishment and the project was delayed due to cost escalation factors.

Meanwhile, Admiral Mehta also endorsed the use of the time-saving block-wise system of ship building as compared to the "keel-up" concept traditionally adopted by India yards.

"Ships are divided into five blocks and built simultaneously at different locations, thereby saving time. During a visit to UK, I saw each block was of around 1,500 tonnes but I will ask the Cochin yard making the aircraft carrier to consider building blocks of 350-400 tonnes each," Admiral Mehta said.

Admiral Mehta also said that the Navy will be implementing the "Network Centric Operations" programme under which platforms under sea, on it and in the air are integrated with a single communications platform.

The implementation of the project which gives a clear picture on the surroundings will start by this year-end on one platform per time. The programme is being carried out in-house and with the help of companies like Satyam Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services can be sought for developing software for the system, Mehta said.

Meanwhile, the chief of naval staff also said that in the wake of increased economic prosperity, the country also needs to enhance the numbers of merchant ships for transportation of civilian goods and tankers for energy security.

Business Standard.com

India's Kirloskar Pneumatic gets 800 mln rupees order from Cochin Shipyard

2008-05-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Kirloskar Pneumatic Co. Ltd. has won an order worth 800 million rupees to design, supply and install an air conditioning plant from Cochin Shipyard Ltd.

With this order -- expected to be completed by March 2009 -- the company's order book stands at 5 billion rupees.

Forbes.com

Cochin will benefit from METRO Rail like Delhi did!!!!

2008-05-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

Staff Reporter

A more efficient, pollution-free mode of transport

KOCHI: Despite those opposing the proposed elevated metro-rail system in Kochi listing some demerits of the project, regular commuters of the Delhi metro rail are all praise for the metro-rail network in Delhi.

The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) had recently released data on how the metro-rail project had a positive influence on the socio-economic fronts in Delhi and the reduction in automobile-induced pollution in the city. At a recent meeting here, detractors of the project said that the metro-coaches would create sound pollution. They also spoke of the high cost of travel, damage to Kochi’s aesthetics (despite the city already being notorious for ill-maintained and dangerous roads, footpaths, medians and drains, apart from encroachments), regular traffic being thrown haywire when the construction of rails is on etc...

Regular commuters of the Delhi metro-rail have drawn comparisons between the system and conventional modes of transport. Gaurav Sharma, a regular commuter on the Delhi metro from Rajouri Garden to the Central Secretariat, spoke of how he reaches office in 30 minutes using the system, as compared to the 90-plus minutes that he used to ‘waste’ on buses, travelling through congested and polluted roads.

“The metro-rail is an all-weather mode of transport. The feeder buses that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) operates to metro stations have been of tremendous benefit to commuters. Frequent announcements through the public-address system make things easy for commuters who are not well versed with Delhi’s topography. The minimum fare is Rs 6, which is nominal, considering the efficient service, cleanliness and air-conditioned comfort that the system offers,” he said.

Another commuter, Catherine Johans, said that the coaches hardly make any noise, unlike local trains in some cities.

“All one hears is a sound similar to that of a car whizzing past. The stations and coaches are very well maintained and do not have pan stains and other dirt that are seen in railway stations and bus stands. A whole lot of people go around regularly cleaning the stations. The DMRC has also provided jobs to hundreds of youth who man food-kiosks all through the network.”

She spoke of the tremendous benefits that handicapped commuters enjoy. The stations have elevators to carry them to the coaches. Even entering the coaches is easy for them, thanks to their low-lying floors.

The fares are very reasonable and regular commuters get a discount card. Ms. Johans spoke of how people who go shopping have taken to the system in a major way.

“Markets like the one at Chandni Chowk, which people had begun shunning some years ago fearing traffic and parking woes, are now crowded with shoppers after the metro-rail was commissioned.”

The other benefits include accident and tension-free journey, escape from ‘heat stroke’, little risk of pick-pocketing and sexual harassment of women. People who work on night shifts too benefit from the system.

This is apart from the fool-proof security of the network. The DMRC even has a system to return goods that commuters lose while travelling.

The Hindu

COCHIN City is slowed down by its Heavy traffic volume

2008-05-06T05:44:00.000-07:00

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: How it feels to be in the heart of Kochi city during peak time traffic? Ask anyone who has experienced it and one would have a rather resigned look on one’s face. And it tells the tale.

That vehicles and traffic in the city have grown beyond what the city can accommodate has long been known. The final draft of the City Mobility Plan (CMP) placed before the Kochi Corporation puts that into numbers.

As per a traffic analysis , intra-city trips (within Kochi) on any day were not less than 2,27,844; whereas total trips to and from the city were 2,82,377. Of the intra-city trips, 1,35,682 trips were by buses, 56,396 by two-wheelers, 46,523 on foot and 16,393 trips by cars. While 91,137 trips were for work, 13,901 were social trips and 11,014 trips were for recreation. Trips related to education purposes came to 9,291. According to the CMP, to accommodate this mammoth traffic, the Kochi Corporation has a road network of 614 km — 17 km of arterial roads, 53 km of sub-arterial roads and 393 km of local streets.

Another 26,128 vehicles carrying goods passed through the city every day.

The CMP suggests a slew of measures, including metro and suburban rail, subways-pedestrian crossings , nine bridges, eight rail overbridges, flyovers, and three major and 14 minor jetties for improved water transport.

The Hindu

Efforts are on to link Cochin to the National Gas Grid.

2008-05-04T05:36:00.000-07:00

Scrutinising: Union Fertilizers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan take a look at the house built from gypsum wall panels at the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore complex in Kochi on Saturday.

Plan for Rs.5,000-crore urea plant in Kochi

Staff Reporter

Efforts on to link Kochi to national gas grid: Paswan

KOCHI: The Union Fertilizer Ministry will consider setting up a million-tonne urea plant in Kochi at an investment of about Rs.5,000 crore once liquefied natural gas (LNG) is available here, said Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday.

The Minister was speaking after laying the foundation for a joint venture between Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) for making reinforced wall panels from phosphogypsum.

Mr. Paswan said it should be possible to explore expansion of capacity at FACT for production of complex fertilizers for which there was growing demand in the country. He said that the profitability of FACT would improve once the feedstock was changed from the current naphta to LNG for which a re-gasification terminal was expected to be commissioned in Kochi by 2012.

Mr. Paswan also said that efforts were on to link Kochi to the national gas grid.

The Minister praised the efforts made by the employees and management of FACT to revive the fortunes of the company that saw one of its hardest years during 2007-08. He promised to support the fertilizer company in all its new ventures.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, who presided over the function, opened the building made from gypsum wall panels for public demonstration.

He said that the new technology was a solution to the problems like shortage of river sand and cement faced by the construction industry in Kerala. He congratulated the management and employees of FACT for initiating projects for reviving the old glory of FACT. He specially lauded their efforts that had resulted in a net profit of Rs.5 crore for the company during last financial year.

T.K.A. Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, said the long-term viability of FACT’s new projects should be ensured. He also congratulated a senior bureaucrat from the State whom he did not name for making big efforts to bring the rapid wall-making enterprise to Kochi.

Chairman of the Central Warehousing Corporation N.K. Choubey and Chairman and Managing Director of FACT George Sleeba exchanged MoU documents for a joint venture between the two public sector companies for setting up a container freight station at Udyogamandal.

Minister for Industries Elamaram Karim, Minister for Public Works Mons Joseph, K. Chandran Pillai and P.C. Thomas, MPs, and others offered felicitations.

The Hindu

Ambuja Cements is constructing a dedicated terminal at Cochin Port at a cost of INR 85 crore is expected to be ready for operations in December 2008.

2008-05-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

May 04, 2008

Ambuja Cements Cochin terminal to be ready by December
Exim News Service reported that Ambuja Cements is constructing a dedicated terminal at Cochin Port at a cost of INR 85 crore. This is expected to be ready for operations in December 2008. The terminal may have the capacity to handle about 1 million tonne a year and may be used for domestic distribution.

Ambuja Cements already has 3 terminals at Panvel, Surat and Mul Dwarka ports. It also proposes to acquire 3 more cargo ships at a cost of about INR 150 crore by 2009, taking its fleet to 10.

Mr AL Kapur MD of Ambuja Cements said that "The first of the ships is expected to be delivered in September 2008, while the remaining two will be delivered in 2009."

Steel Guru.com

Mini Muthoottu group plans to set up a comprehensive warehousing facility in Cochin.

2008-05-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Kerala to get Logistics Park
Saturday May 3 2008 00:30 IST
EXPLORING new business possibilities relating to the upcoming Vallarpadam Container Terminal, Mini Muthoottu group plans to set up a comprehensive warehousing facility in Kochi.

First of its kind in Kerala, the Logistics Park will have the state-of-the-art warehousing system that would offer adequate storage facility for all kinds trans-shipment goods.

"The International Container Trans-shipment Terminal will surely necessitate a high-tech warehousing facility. The new segmented warehousing project would suit the purpose as it will be set up close to the terminal," said Roy M Mathew, Chairman.

The project, to be set up close to the proposed Port Base SEZ, is conceived as an integrated logistics platform with all transport modes and value added services in a single custom bonded environment.

The demand of sophisticated warehousing facility, especially for perishable goods, is expected to intensify in the near future. The warehousing facility will have specific segment for ice cream, chocolates, electronic goods, etc, Roy said.

The group is also inviting proposals for joint ventures. The partners who can bring in financial resources and comprehensive project management expertise can be accommodated, Roy said.

The project, to be at an investment of Rs 300 crore, is expected to be completed in two years.
New Indian Express

Roman Tarmat gets orders worth 196.2 mln rupees including CIAL's Additional Parking Bays

2008-05-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

MUMBAI, May 2 (Reuters) - Roman Tarmat Ltd (ROTA.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it had got two orders worth 196.2 million rupees for construction works in the southern state of Kerala.

One of the orders is for construction of additional parking bays at the Cochin International Airport while the other is for construction of road, bridges and allied works, it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Kaustav Roy; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Reuters

Cochin Shipyard delivers platform supply vessel

2008-05-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

Kochi, May 1:

The Cochin Shipyard delivered another platform supply vessel on Thursday named ‘Sea Pollock’ to Deep Sea Supply Plc, Norway. The protocol documents were signed by Mr K.K. Sukumaran, Executive Director, on behalf of the Cochin Shipyard and Mr Karisen, Fleet Manager, on behalf of Deep Sea Supply, a press release issued here has said.

This is the sixth in a series of eight ships being built for this owner.

The first ship was delivered in June 2007. The subsequent four ships — Halibut, Sea Angler, Sea Pike and Sea Bass — were delivered in 2007-08.

Three of these ships are operating in West Africa, one in Libya and one in Mexico.

Sea Pollock is expected to start trading from Singapore. All the vessels delivered so far have reported excellent performance and are operating for reputed international petroleum companies, the release added.

UT-755 design

These platform supply vessels are built on the popular UT-755 design for the offshore industry.

The vessel is designed for satisfying the specific demands of transport, dock cargo, liquid cargo, as well as for uploading on to rigs and production platforms and pipe laying barges.

They are considered the workhorses of the offshore oil field industry which acts as a lifeline carrying all operational supplies and stores to far-off installations.

As the offshore industry moves into deeper waters, demand for such advanced vessels are expected to rise. These ships have been designed by the Rolls Royce ship technology group.

The ship is built and classified under the stringent rules and regulations of Det Norske Veritas and is classified for unmanned engine room and dynamic positions grade.

The vessel also satisfies the ‘Clean’ notation of DNV which signifies high standards of environmental safety, the release said.

Other projects

The shipyard is also constructing 20 similar ships for European and American clients valued at over Rs 2,000 crore.

These projects are being undertaken exclusive of the Air Defence ship for the Indian Navy which is also presently under construction.

The shipyard plans to deliver nine ships during 2008-09.

The company’s performance continues to be good in terms of meeting contractual delivery schedules while maintaining high quality standards, the Cochin Shipyard said.

Taken from Business Line

thehindubusinessline.in

MoneyControl

'Cochin is one of the most efficient airports in the world'

2008-05-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

S Bharath, Managing Director, CIAL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Way back in 1999, Cochin International Airport was the first airport project in the country implemented under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model. Currently, it ranks as the 4th largest airport in India in terms of international passenger traffic—after Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai—and the 7th largest airport in terms of domestic passenger traffic. Cochin International Airport Ltd, the airport developer and operator, is now looking at replicating the successful model in other states and countries. It also wants to develop an Aerotropolis around the airport. In an interview with Outlook Business, S Bharath, Managing Director, CIAL, outlines the challenges of developing a greenfield airport in the country. Excerpts:

How do you see the airport landscape in India changing over the next 10-15 years?

With the new policy on non-metro and regional airport infrastructure in place, I believe that we are going to witness a paradigm shift in the air traffic patterns. Regional airports will have a major impact in the civil aviation scenario in the years to come.

Further, with the low cost airline business model gaining roots in the country, the regional airports would enable rapid connectivity between Tier I, II and III cities of the country with the metropolitan cities by way of a hub and spoke mechanism.

This has been the experience internationally, especially in Europe and USA.

This structural shift is the natural result when a sector which was tightly regulated until recently has been opened up for private participation. This has been the case in the telecom sector also.

What has been the biggest challenge while developing the Kochi airport?

CIAL is the first airport project in India implemented under the PPP model. As in the case of any major project, acquiring land has been one of the biggest challenges faced while implementing the project.

For the airport, CIAL acquired around 1,500 acres of land from about 900 families. Unlike what is taking place now where State governments are acquiring land for airports, land acquisition in our case was done through a negotiated settlement with the land-owners.

A co-ordination committee headed by one of the ministers of the Kerala government and consisting of the representatives of the land owners, the District Collector, the elected representatives of the locality or panchayat and the managing director of the company, held several rounds of marathon meetings to arrive at a settlement scheme that was acceptable to all the land evictees. A rehabilitation package was also worked out for rehabilitating 900 families that were displaced due to the land acquisition process.

Apart from providing job to one member from each family who lost their land or house, the company also allotted taxi permits to land evictees to operate in the airport as a part of our pre-paid taxi service operated by CIAL. The houses of the land evictees were valued at the rates currently in force and the compensation was paid through the District Collector.

What were the key lessons while developing the Greenfield airport project?

I would attribute the success of the airport project to several factors:

An excellent co-ordination between the Board of Directors of CIAL, the state government, the elected representatives of the local people, and the local people living around the airport.

A strong political will by the various governments cutting across party lines;

An emphasis to keep the project cost as low as possible; a very efficient and dedicated team of officers and employees for the project implementation, and finally, a focus on revenues from multiple sources coupled with low costs incurred to earn them.

Can you give us a sense of the employment generated - at construction or development phase and for operating and managing the airport?

At the time of construction of the airport, CIAL employed about 200 people directly on its rolls. Indirect employment in the various agencies that operated in the airport at the time of starting the airport was about 1,000.

As of now, CIAL employs about 700 person directly and has been able to provide indirect employment to around 3,500 persons in the various agencies that operate in the airport.

If we take into account the employment generated by various airlines, cargo agencies, hotels, business establishments around the airport, this would work out to ten times the jobs created by CIAL.

How has the airport helped in the development of allied services in and around the airport?

The economic boom currently being felt at Kochi is a direct benefit arising out of the establishment of the international airport. Because of the enhanced connectivity, a very rapid growth is being witnessed in the IT Sector and the Tourism Sector at Kochi and in the southern parts of the State.

The local panchayat, Nedumbassery is one of the highest revenue earners in the State in terms of collection local taxes / other taxes levied by the State and Central Govts.

Kochi is chosen as the preferred destination for several state and national level conferences by leading event management agencies. It also the gateway to Kerala for tourists.

User development fees and aircraft landing, ground handling and parking charges have been an issue with many airline operators. How are you planning to address these issues?

You would be aware that airport revenues comprises of two parts namely, aeronautical revenue and non-aeronautical revenue. The aeronautic revenues such as landing and parking charges, air traffic charges etc are regulated by the Central Govt and in the case of non aeronautical revenue, the rates are determined by the airport operator based on commercial principles and the demand and supply market conditions.

Our strategy is to systematically develop the non aeronautical revenue sources to such a level that the airport should be able to profitably operate and sustain itself less of aeronautical revenues and more of non-aeronautical revenues.

It is our vision at CIAL to achieve “Zero Landing Charges” status by the year 2015.

User Development Fee is a key element in the structuring of all PPP projects including roads, bridges, ports and airports.

Basically, a portion of the cost of the project is passed on to the users by way of a fixed amount of fee. The key term is the cost of the project. If the project cost is kept low/within reasonable limits, the users will have to pay only a small amount by way of the user’s fee. In other words, the user’s development fee will reflect the cost efficiency in implementing the project.

A reasonable amount by way of Users Development Fee is always good, both for the airport operator and the passenger as well because this revenue will enable the airport operator to offer the most modern services and facilities to all stake-holders, including the passengers and the airlines.

Our interaction with NRI passengers has confirmed that they do not mind paying a reasonable amount as Users Development Fee. However they demand an experience that is as good as at any other foreign airport.

How viable is the Kochi airport project in terms of return over investment? How do you plan to leverage the airport to develop other commercial activities in and around the airport?

Kochi is one of the most efficiently managed airports not only in the country, but across the world in terms of the profit margin. According to a recent study, in terms of EBITDA margins, Cochin is one of the most efficient airports in the world.

Our capex is one of the lowest for airports in the world- less than Rs 500 crore.

With EBITDA at about 73% of our gross revenues. Profit Before Tax ( PBT ) is about 45% of our gross revenues while Profit After Tax ( PAT ) is about 40% of our gross revenues. These figures are for the last 3 years

Our strategy has been to systematically develop the non-aeronautical revenues and thus reduce the dependence on other aeronautical revenues. The duty free business is one of major drivers of the growth for CIAL.

We have very successfully marketed our airport retail in terms of marketing advertising space in various parts of the airport from the airside to the city side and also the retail business in and around the airport. As of now non-aeronautical revenues almost constitute 45% of the gross revenues of our airport as compared to the aeronautical revenues, which is 55% as of now. We propose to increase this to a ratio of 60%-40% over the next 3 years.

The company envisions developing a full-fledged airport city, surrounding the airport with state-of-the-art facilities for the various users and stakeholders. The master plan envisages establishment of 5-star hotels, budget hotels, 18 hole golf course with a sporting complex, business/convention centre, IT/ITES park, logistics centre, amusement park, specialty hospital, educational institutions, cultural village, etc to shore up our non aeronautical revenues.

To shore up our aeronautical revenues we are setting up MRO (Aircraft maintenance repairs and overhaul centre) along with an aviation academy which would teach the entire gamut of courses required to running of an airport and the MRO. The cost of setting up the Aerotropolis would be about Rs 5,000 crores ( $ 1.5 billion ) which would be set up over a period of 10 years.

We propose to raise capital to set up the Aerotropolis by setting up different SPV’s for the different projects. We would invite private and public participation for investments in these SPV’s and we would participate in these SPV’s either by leveraging on the strength of the land holding we have and by investing in select SPV’s which strengthens our core business

.Kochi International Airport Limited is now looking at going
overseas for development of airport. How about taking up projects in the country in non-metro and Greenfield sectors?

We are in the process of setting up a consortium comprising of CIAL, the airport operator, a global technical partner who would help provide us global best practices of managerial, operational and technical expertise to build and operate airports anywhere in the world, and a large investment partner who would help fund the new projects that we would undertake. Discussions are going on with major players based both in India and abroad. Once this consortium is formed, we would like to participate in the bidding process to set up and operate Greenfield and Brownfield airports both in India and abroad on a Build operate and transfer ( BOT ) or Build own and operate ( BOO ) basis. We would also provide select managerial, technical and advisory services both in India and abroad to Govts/organizations/agencies etc who would like set up and manage and operate airports.

Our cost effective model of airport development has attracted the attention of many state governments in India and several countries in South Asia and parts of Africa to help set up airports for them. Recently we were invited by the President of Sri Lanka to help set up an airport for them in southern Sri Lanka.

What would be your advice to Greenfield airport projects currently being planned by many state governments? How viable would be regional airports on the whole?

Our consistent policy has been to keep the costs low while ensuring that the service of the highest standards is rendered to the users and stake-holders of the airport.

By keeping their costs low, sticking to highest service standards and with a strong focus on maximising the non-aeronautical revenue, regional airports should be able to emulate the performance of CIAL.

Outlook Business.com

Cochin Shipyard delivers Sea Pollock, a newbuild platform support vessel (PSV) to Deep Sea Supply

2008-04-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

Pollock brightens picture for Deep SeaFiled from Aberdeen
4/30/2008 1:11:33 PM GMT

INDIA: Deep Sea Supply has taken delivery of Sea Pollock, a newbuild platform support vessel (PSV) from Cochin Shipyard in India. A spokesperson for the company said, "The vessel is a UT 755L Platform Supply Vessel, and the vessel was delivered on time and budget." The vessel is the sixth delivery in a series of eight newbuilding PSVs delivered to Deep Sea Supply from Cochin.

Energy Current

Cochin Engineering Products Consortium Pvt. Ltd(Stakeholders form engineering cluster )

2008-04-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

Training centre for engineering units

Staff Reporter

Stakeholders form engineering cluster

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Proposal to set up oxygen plant

1,300 members pool their resources

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KOCHI: Cochin Engineering Products Consortium Pvt. Ltd., representing nearly 2,000 industrial engineering units in Ernakulam district, has proposed the setting up of a general training centre and an oxygen plant as common facilities to suit the requirements of all engineering units in the State.

The detailed project report was prepared with help of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat). Besides, Friday Solutions, a project consultancy based in Chennai that conducted a benchmark study of the engineering clusters in Kerala, is also preparing project report, said K.T. Jose, Cluster Coordination chairman.

The Engineering Products Consortium has been built on the collective strength of its 1,300 members who have pooled their resources, know-how and good will to surmount odds in the path to realising their business potential. There are a total of 1,800 engineering units in the district. Some employ only four people and others as many as 40. The engineering clusters in the district — including the Ernakulam Engineering Cluster which has started a raw materials bank in North Paravoor — have become a reality to boost the business potential of the units.

The organisational network of The Kerala Industrial Engineering Workshops Federation came handy in establishing the engineering clusters.

The raw material bank in North Paravur, called Parur Iron and Steel Cluster Pvt. Ltd., is now in a position to supply construction materials such as shuttering plates, scaffolding materials, lifts, trolleys, modern gates, standard models of grills, garden furniture, roofing and piling materials, etc.

Mr. Jose said the proposed training centre would have sophisticated machinery that will enable the cluster members to take up specialised jobs for Cochin Shipyard, hydro-electric projects, etc.

The oxygen plant will help meet shortage of industrial gas supply. The capacity of the proposed unit will be 400 cylinders a day, which will just be enough to meet the requirements in Ernakulam district, said Mr. Jose.

The Hindu

CIAL made its presence felt at the Aerodrome conference 2008 at Pragati Maidan , NewDelhi.

2008-04-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Photo CIAL WEBSITE ARCHIVES
CIAL at Aerodrome Conference 2008
Cochin International Airport made its presence felt at the Aerodrome conference 2008 at Pragati Maidan , NewDelhi. S.Bharath, Managing Director, CIAL gave a presentation at the conference about the topic "AIRPORT AS AN ECONOMIC GATEWAY ". He explained CIAL's future plans and Aerotropolis concept . CIAL has put up stalls showcasing its strengths and traditional kerala styles.

COCHIN AIRPORT NEWS

India's first PPP airport was Cochin in the southern state of Kerala, and this has made profits since opening in 1999, with profits today at 35%!!!!

2008-04-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Never mind the quantity, India shows, it is the quality of ideas that matters
Stephen Manallack
April 24, 2008

AS WE look at the sheer volume of ideas in the 2020 Summit, perhaps we should consider that the Indian Government has supported an economic miracle simply by adopting two ideas — building the world's cheapest telecoms sector and backing public-private partnerships (PPPs) in aviation.

After the summit, can we, like India, identify the two or three big drivers of change and clear their path?

India took a big decision on telecommunications — realising that it could not afford the infrastructure for land lines — opting for the lowest-cost mobile telephones combined with the fastest internet in the world. In an instant, India was open for business.

The effect has already been huge, with about 8 million new mobiles sold each month, and with 300 million users.

Facing the need to help business travel and trade (and facing a growing host of overseas visitors), India realised that it could not afford to own and run its own infrastructure, so it turned to public-private partnerships (PPPs). The modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports plus the new Hyderabad and Bengalooru airports are prime examples. India's first PPP airport was Cochin in the southern state of Kerala, and this has made profits since opening in 1999, with profits today at 35%.In the past year 96 million passengers flew in India — just four years ago the number was only 48 million. By 2010 there will be 145 million passenger flights a year.

Both of these were big ideas — telecoms allowed India to leap across 50 years and become a leader in the field, while aviation meant a diverse and disorganised country could come together.

Foreign investors are racing into India, with the smart money moving into new areas. Early investors went for the technology sector, but new money is also going into real estate, infrastructure, media and health care.

This is where the 2020 Summit missed one big idea — while we trade with most of the world, could we benefit from a special focus on all aspects of our relationship with India? A bank of friendship already exists and it is time to build new forms of regular business leadership dialogue — perhaps, Indians being even more sports mad than we are, held in conjunction with major sporting events.

As India has shown, building the future can come down to two or three core ideas, and one of those could be to tie our future much more closely to South Asia.

Stephen Manallack is director of the India Australia Financial Forum and secretary of the Australia India Business Council (Vic).
Austrailian Business Day THE AGE

Encroachers thrive, but Cochin Devaswom Board unmoved

2008-04-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

TRIPUNITHARA: THE Cochin Devaswom Board, the custodian of nearly a thousand temples, is least bothered about the assets owned by the temples.

As the mystery surrounding the missing gold makutam from Sree Poornathrayeesa temple deepens, concerned special officers like the Pandam Pathram Special Officer who is responsible for the ornaments and utensils of the temple, are still clueless about the stock of gold and silver at various temples.

The concerned officer came to know about the old makutam weighing about 500 grams of gold when the devotees asked for stocktaking of ornaments inside the strong room.

Along with movable properties, immovable properties like land and buildings have now started to disappear from the stock registers.

Several acres of land owned by various temples under the Board remain abandoned at various places in and around the city which include North Fort Gate in Tripunithura and Bypass Junction in Vyttila. The land in other prime locations remains exposed to encroachments.

On Tuesday when a team headed by the tahasildar tried to reassess the 1.89 acres of land owned by the Maradu Ayini Siva temple a clash ensued between the encroachers and the temple advisory committee members.

In several cases, temple committees played a major role in recovering the temple land from private parties and government departments.

Nearly an acre of land owned by the Poornathrayeesa temple was recovered from the illegal custody of the PWD after the timely intervention of the Sree Poornathrayeesa Seva Sangham.

The `oottupura’ owned by the Kannankulangara Siva temple was recovered from the illegal custody of the Khadi Board by Kannankulangara Thiruvathira Committee. Ernakulam Siva Kshethra Kshema Samithi was able to recover the prime land situated next to the temple where it started a traditional Kshethra Kala Peedham.

Though most of the temple committees are ready to support the Devaswam Board in recovering the land owned by several temples, the Board is reluctant to act. Though the High Court has appointed an ombudsman for a detailed study of corruption and irregularities in the Board, the ombudsman’s duty is limited to studying the matter and submitting a report. Lack of execution power has virtually made the ombudsman a helpless witness to the irregularities.
NEW IND EXPRES

Jet Airways launches Cochin-Doha flight

2008-04-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

NEDUMBASSERY: Jet Airways has commenced its daily direct flights from Kochi to Doha on Friday.

The Airport director ACK Nair has inaugurated the service, in the presence of Jet Airways vice-president Hariharan, general manager Ravichandar, emigration superintendent of police VG Babu and Jet Airways Kerala area manager Andrews Parakkal.

With the new launching, Doha will be the fourth destination of Jet Airways from Kochi to Gulf region. Jet Airways flight to Doha will depart from Kochi airport at 10:25 p.m..

With the commencement of these new flights, India- Gulf sector would witness large volumes of traffic. Due to the increase in passengers on these sectors, the airline had decided to connect Kochi-Doha with daily direct flights, said Jet Airways chief executive Wolfgang Prock-Schauer.
NEW IND EXPRESS

Cochin will be Bahrain Air's first destination to INDIA

2008-04-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

Bahrain Air, Manama-based low-cost airline on Saturday announced plans to launch flights to India with Kochi as its first destination.

Bahrain's second national carrier will start its inaugural Bahrain-Kochi service on May 26. The airline will fly thrice a week - Monday, Tuesday and Friday - for the entire summer season, and then launch its daily service starting from October, said a top airline official.

Announcing the launch, Ibrahim Al Hamar, managing director of Bahrain Air, "Our service to the south Indian city of Kochi is our first step into the lucrative market of India, particularly the southern region, to serve the increasing demand from public and in particular the Indian community residing in Bahrain and the other GCC countries or for those who are visiting their families or are for business or leisure.”

"Monday flights will take off at 10:40am from Bahrain airport and arrive at Cochin International Airport at 5:30pm, local time on the same day. The Tuesday and Friday flights will depart Bahrain at 7pm and arrive at Kochi in the early hours of Wednesdays and Saturdays at 02:30am," he said.

He pointed out that Bahrain Air took the initiative entirely on its own to conclude the formalities and secure the clearance for traffic rights to India.

“We are very pleased to be able to serve the large Indian community by way of offering cost effective and comfortable means of travel to and from Bahrain to Kochi,” Al Hamer noted.

“Bahrain Air passengers to Kochi will eventually be able to fly onward to other Indian destinations with the use of a domestic airline, with whom we are in the process of finalising the code sharing arrangements,” he added.

Kochi is the largest commercial hub in the beautiful South Indian state of Kerala and is also a gateway to the other cities with the same state and others. Kochi is also renowned for special Ayurvedic spas and treatment centers.

Bahrain Air started operations out of Bahrain International Airport on February 3. Currently it has twice daily services at convenient timings to Dubai and Doha, 5 weekly flights to Alexandria, 4 weekly flights to Beirut and Amman, 3 each to Damascus and Mashad in Iran.

The airline is eyeing two more new destinations in June besides planning to launch two weekly flights to Dhaka.-TradeArabia News Service

COCHIN (Kochi )Metro likely to be ready by 2011-end

2008-04-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the consultants for the Rs 3,048-crore elevated light rail Kochi Metro, has turned down request for change in Kochi Metro alignments. Civil work on the project, scheduled this month, was in jeopardy following local traders pleading change in the route.

“Since DMRC has refused to oblige the traders’ demands, work will go on as per the original schedule and route,” M Vijayakumar, state minister in charge of metro-rail, said. It is feared that further changes may make the project unattractive to investors.

Only as much as 15% of the stakes in the Kochi Metro Rail PPP is claimed by the state government. Rest is open to private promoters. The project is also counting on support from the Planning Commission.

The elevated light rail Kochi Metro is scheduled to be ready for public use within three years from starting of the work. Since only 26 hectares of land is needed, (as the transport is on elevated rail structures), less than 16 acres needs to be acquired. So work on the metro rail is under way. As per the present indications, the rail is expected to be functional by end of 2011.

Traders in Kochi, anxious that long-drawn construction activities, may stall free movement in the city, had mooted change in alignment put forward by DMRC. They also argued that the DPR (detail project report) was yet to be made public. The present alignment of the metro rail running 25.3 km from Edapally to Tripunithura was originally suggested by a study by RITES.

Following the mele over alignment, senior DMRC officials had visited the site in February to make inspections. The recommendation was that no change in the original alignment is called for, DMRC has informed the state government.

FINANCIAL EXPRESS

Air India to start daily Muscat-Cochin services

2008-04-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Dubai, April 16 : India's national carrier Air India is planning to increase its services between Oman's capital Muscat and Kochi in Kerala from the current thrice-a-week to daily within two months.

The airline is also planning to introduce services between Muscat and Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram soon, Abhay Pathak, regional manager for Middle East and Africa of the National Aviation Company of India (NACIL) told the Oman Tribune.

A large number of the 500,000-strong expatriate Indian community in Oman hails from Kerala.

Air India's Oman country manager Aditya Mathur, speaking at an annual agents award function in Muscat, said the airline witnessed a 51 percent increase in passenger traffic and 44 percent increase in revenues in the year 2007-2008.

He added that the airline now had 24 flights a week from Muscat to India. It had also recently begun daily non-stop flights to New Delhi with connections to all major north Indian destinations.

The airline also connects Muscat with Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chennai.

--- IANS

New Kerala.com

Gopinath eyes tie-up with Cochin Airport

2008-04-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

Anirban Chowdhury / New Delhi April 15, 2008

In talks for all-India cargo hub.

India's pioneer of low-cost carriers GR Gopinath is in talks with Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), India's first privately operated airport, to set up a joint venture for dedicated cargo facilities across the country.

Sources in CIAL said these cargo facilities will be set up on a hub-and-spoke model. Nagpur or Hyderabad will act as cargo hubs and other small facilities across the country will be set up as the spokes with warehousing facilities. Several unused airstrips in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are being considered for the smaller facilities.

"Cargo facilities are something we are definitely looking at. While Gopinath will select the land, we will handle the operations of the airport," said S Bharat, CIAL managing director.

"The plan is still in the preliminary stages, but we have talked to CIAL for setting up cargo facilities," confirmed Gopinath, who is vice-chairman of the company which is in the process of being set up after the merger of Air Deccan with Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher had acquired a majority stake in Air Deccan and the merger was announced in December last year.

The cargo hubs are part of independent ventures by Gopinath that include a dedicated cargo airline, for which he is preparing a business plan.

According to sources, the hubs will cover around 800 acres of land and will entail an investment of over Rs 500 crore.

The hubs will also have facilities like electronic data interchange (EDI), which enables the destination airport to access details of a cargo consignment before the flight lands. The hubs will also be a base for the cargo aircraft.

According to the government's greenfield airport policy, cargo facilities can also be set up like merchant airports allowing a private company to select the land and develop the airport without government funding.

The government's air cargo policy is expected in the next two or three months. Among other things, the policy will include the concept of cargo villages, which will act as hubs for checking and sorting out cargo consignments.

Gopinath, however, will have competitors. New freighter entrant QuikJet is planning to start operations to places like Nagpur, Ahmadabad and Indore by the second half of this year.

Blue Dart, meanwhile, is expanding its facilities across the country starting with a temporary facility at the Hyderabad airport at a cost of Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore and expanding its facility at the Delhi airport. The carrier is also planning to expand its fleet of four Boeing 737 and three Boeing 757 aircraft by acquiring new ones.

While carriers like Spice Jet are starting their own cargo companies, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are looking at starting dedicated freighter airlines soon.
Business Standard

COCHIN(KOCHI) City to be tidied up to welcome Volvo Ocean racers

2008-04-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

Inter-departmental meeting planned this month

KOCHI: Kochi will wear a fresh look by December if Government departments, residents and sponsors embark on a coordinated effort to tidy the city to welcome the participants and guests for the world-renowned Volvo Ocean Race.

The race is among the world’s three top sailing competitions and Kochi is one among the 11 stopovers for the race (and the sole stopover in South Asia) that will cover 35,000 nautical miles over different continents. The racers are scheduled to call at Kochi from Cape Town, South Africa in seven ultra-modern yachts on December 3 and stay here for 10 days.

Discussions

Very soon, senior officials of the Cochin Port Trust will hold discussions with representatives from different departments to make Kochi attired and presentable for the event, said N. Ramachandran, Chairman of the Cochin Port Trust. He held preliminary discussions with Kochi Mayor Mercy Williams and handed over a list of suggestions to ensure that the guests and Kochi’s citizenry have a hassle-free time.

Public participation

These include steps to ensure public participation so that this becomes a citizen’s programme, and involvement of the people in decking up the city to ensure her cleanliness. The Corporation of Cochin and the agencies concerned would have to hold awareness programmes to keep the waterbodies clean and free of pollution.

The Corporation, PWD and National Highways Authority of India have to ensure that all important roads in the city are repaired.

Steps have also to be taken so that the movement of vehicles is smooth. Demarcation of parking areas is another necessity.

Awareness programmes

Awareness programmes will be held for drivers of autorickshaws and taxis, to behave courteously. A blanket ban will be imposed on drivers and vendors soliciting customers. Students and teachers will be involved in the preparation and conduct of the event. Kerala’s tourism potential, culture, art and cuisine will be showcased at the race’s Kochi stopover.

Publication of quality maps and information brochures on Kochi will be among the points that will be discussed in the joint meeting.

A major aim would be to brand Kochi as a vibrant and vivacious tourist destination.

The stopover is significant since chief executive officers of foreign firms are expected to gather here and business conclaves have been planned with their Indian counterparts.

THE HINDU

New $1 Billion India Infrastructure Fund is Launched

2008-04-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Unique Three Way Partnership of Vision Global Investments I to provide strength and competitive advantage

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Principals of VGI DLC today announced the launch of Vision Global Investments I, a U.S. $1 billion dollar India infrastructure-focused fund. The Fund brings a “force multiplier” to its investors through an experienced and skilled team of U.S.-based investment professionals, and practiced and highly knowledgeable India-based entities SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd. and Primadona Global Holdings WWL. With offices in New York, London, Delhi, and most recently Bahrain, as well as an advisory office in Mumbai, VGI I is the group’s initial offering.

Vision Global Investment’s India Infrastructure Fund I will focus its investments on opportunities that directly contribute to the essential infrastructure improvements needed to support the country’s continued economic growth. The fund is seeking institutional class investors from the U.S., Europe and selectively from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Japan where there is considerable interest in this asset class.

“From an investment perspective, the current opportunity within India is enormous. The need for responsible private investment in conjunction with the Indian Government’s strong commitment to infrastructure development is essential for India to satisfy the needs of their expanding economy,” said Thomas J. Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Vision Global Investments, DLC. “By combining our collective years of institutional asset management and direct India investment experience, VGI brings a unique, well-rounded skill set that ensures the highest quality financial and operational execution on portfolio investments. We believe that our 'hands-on' and active approach to asset management will produce an unparalleled, well diversified infrastructure portfolio of the highest quality for our investors and partners.”

Infrastructure investment in India is planned to exceed $450 billion by 2012, and is consequently becoming increasingly attractive to global investors. The country’s robust economic growth, size and breadth of arising sector opportunities, much improved business climate and superior risk / return characteristics all contribute towards India’s growing viability as a destination for infrastructure investment. In fact, according to a recent report published in the Economic Times (February 22, 2008), the eight of the world’s top 10 equity infrastructure funds last year [2007] were India focused.

Vision Global’s India Infrastructure Fund I will be managed by a unique team of broadly-experienced and successful investment professionals with specific skills and knowledge in the infrastructure domain. Collectively, the group has over 60 years of relevant investment experience, 18 of which has been spent investing into the Indian economy. This exceptional partnership provides a distinct competitive advantage to the fund and offers investors a “force multiplier” of professional expertise.

This unique three-way partnership combines over 18 years of Worldwide Investment and Risk Management experience of VGI; the Management & Indian Investing experience of Primadona, a group of Indian Management and Investing professionals with over 20 years experience operating large Indian corporations and particular expertise in investing in energy and construction; and the “on-the-ground” experience and global reach of SREI, one of the largest Infrastructure Finance Company in India with verticals in almost all of the sectors and services of advisory, debt syndication, and wet leasing.

The Fund is accepting assets as of May 1, 2008. Its anticipated first closing will occur in the U.S. $300 million range.

Media inquiries should be directed to Beth Bresnahan, Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, 617-312-9013.

Business Wire

COCHIN Number One in India's Domestic Traffic Growth at 39.8%

2008-04-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

Top 13 Indian Airports Domestic Traffic for January 2008

Indian Domestic Market March 2008

Indian Domestic Air Growth
year on year passenger growth

CIAL's DOMESTIC TERMINAL(Cochin achieved domestic growth of over +39.8% in January)
Latest figures from the Airports Authority of India reveal that sanity appears to be prevailing at long last in the Indian domestic market. In both December 2007 and January 2008 domestic traffic growth was less than 15% which compares with an average of 30% for the whole of 2007 and over 40% in 2006.

Among India’s busiest airports only Cochin (+39.8%) and Jaipur (+38.2%) achieved domestic growth of over 20% in January. At Coimbatore and Ahmedabad domestic traffic even fell slightly.

Latest figures from the Airports Authority of India reveal that sanity appears to be prevailing at long last in the Indian domestic market. In both December 2007 and January 2008 domestic traffic growth was less than 15% which compares with an average of 30% for the whole of 2007 and over 40% in 2006.
International traffic growth which had been running at between 15% and 20% for most of 2007 also showed signs of maturity as growth in December 2007 and January 2008 was recorded at 11.6% and 10.6% respectively. In January the two largest international airports, Mumbai and Delhi grew by just 4.9% and 6.6% respectively. Star performer in this category was Ahmedabad whose international traffic was up almost 90%.

No carrier has more than 25% of domestic market
The domestic market remains highly competitive despite recent consolidation. No single airline currently has more than 25% of the available capacity though combining Kingfisher and Air Deccan would give them 27% of the market and combining Jet Airways with its JetLite subsidiary would yield an almost 29% capacity market share.

Last month saw the opening of the new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad while the new Bengaluru International Airport serving Bangalore is scheduled to open on 11 May.

ANNA AERO

Busy days ahead for Cochin airport

2008-04-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

A Correspondent

Summer schedule from today

NEDUMBASSERY: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will register a 30 per cent growth in weekly aircraft movement during the six-month summer schedule, which will come into force on Sunday.

Two new daily direct flights by Air India, one each to Delhi and Mumbai, is one of the highlights of the schedule. Both the services will begin operations on Sunday.

The Delhi flight is scheduled to depart from here at 7.30 a.m. and reach Delhi at 10.30 am. In the return direction, the flight will leave at 5.30 p.m. and reach here at 8.30 pm.

The Mumbai flight scheduled for 9.15 p.m. departure is predominantly aimed at passengers bound to take Air India’s non-stop Mumbai-New York flight, which is operated daily at 12.45 a.m.

As per the new schedule announced by Shriram Bharath, managing director of the airport company, the number of flight movement stands at 451- 256 domestic and 195 international services.

This is in comparison to 346 movements – 195 in the domestic and 151 in the international sector – during the just concluded winter schedule.

With enhanced flight movements, the airport will remain connected to key Indian cities, including the national capital.

The frequency of daily flight services to these cities has gone up with nine services to Mumbai, two to Delhi, 11 to Bangalore and seven flights to Chennai.

In the international sector, 16 foreign airlines operate out of Kochi. Apart from West Asia destinations, Kochi stays connected to Singapore and Colombo.

Besides, most of these airlines offer onward connection to various U.S. and European destinations as well as to Far East destinations.

The Hindu

Cooperative for quarry explosives being set up in Ernakulam district

2008-04-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Kerala - Kochi

Cooperative for quarry explosives

Special Correspondent

Branches at major quarrying centres planned

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It will store explosives and supply them to quarries at regular intervals depending on need

Expected to curb accidents during storing and handling of explosives

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KOCHI: In order to store and supply the highly hazardous explosives required for the hundreds of stone quarries in Ernakulam district, a cooperative society is being set up with branches at major quarrying centres.

The society, to be launched later this month, will store licensed explosives and supply them to the quarries at regular intervals depending on their needs.

The setting up of the society, which will act as a centralised agency, will be a major step in checking accidents during storing and handling of explosives. It will also take care of the quarry owners’ long-standing grievance of anomalies and corruption in issuing licences for explosives.

Society concept

The concept of the society was mooted by the All-Kerala Karinkal Quarry Association, which is miffed at the stringent controls as well as bureaucratic delay in issuing licences.

However, it was after a State-level shutdown agitation by the association members, especially in Ernakulam district, in January that the government took a positive view of the idea.

Meeting held

At a meeting called by the Industries Minister and attended by senior bureaucrats as well as association functionaries to end the agitation, the cooperative society idea was accepted.

The government side contended that since the restrictions and controls on issuing individual explosives licences could not be eased in view of the possibility of abuse for terrorist activities, licences could be given to a registered cooperative society.

Such societies, consisting of quarry owners, could be set up at district or taluk level or even at major quarrying centres. Already, a district-level society was functioning in Wayanad.

Ernakulam district Karinkal Quarry Association functionaries told The Hindu that apart from the district-level society, several branches would be opened where magazines would be kept so that smooth and timely supply of explosives could be ensured.

By scientifically storing the explosives, the society could check accidents while handling.

Accidents

The quarrying industry in Ernakulam district, which employs up to 10,000 workers, had slipped into a deep crisis following two quarry accidents that killed six workers three weeks apart in December-January. Following the accidents, government authorities stopped the functioning of many quarries, though the ban was lifted later.Resistance to quarrying by local people and environmental groups has also been on the rise because of noise pollution and other health hazards.

An assault on mediapersons from a TV channel last month, allegedly by persons hired by a quarry, had triggered popular wrath against the quarries in the district.

HINDU

Rs 30 crore to be spent for savvying Kochi's infrastructure as the only South Asian port of call in the 11-port Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 pact

2008-04-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

Kochi factors Rs 30-cr gear for Volvo Ocean Race Cindrella deal
M Sarita Varma
Posted online: Thursday , April 03, 2008 at 0108 hrs IST

Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 Kochi port and Kerala Tourism are cobbling up Rs 30 crore for savvying Kochi's infrastructure as the only South Asian port of call in the 11-port Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 pact. Competing with port behemoths like Dubai, the mid-size port had squeezed into the international race route, notching up a Cindrella deal of 10 million euro-worth license fee waiver from organisers, in the bargain.

"The infrastructure spend will be garnered from corporate sponsors, Indian and possibly other South Asian business magnates," said N Ramachandran, Chairman, Cochin Port Trust (CPT). A racing village - in the Volvo Ocean race tradition - is coming up in Kochi. "If this is not enough, a houseboat village can be fanned out in a marina design," he added.

The once-in-three years international yachting event starts on October this year from Alicante in Spain and ends next year in Russia. Seven to nine yachts, including that of the sponsoring Erickson, Puma and a'Lenta (a US retail group), are scheduled to harbour the Indian port in December. Business captains worldwide are expected to host cheerleader sessions to their sponsored teams in the 10-days stay of the teams in Kochi.

Although Kerala Tourism figures as the only Indian destination in Superbrands.com, its infrastructure supplyside is not a strong point, especially in terms of room availability. "Kochi barely makes the grade," admits V Venu, Secretary, Kerala Tourism, " About 5000 rooms are needed. There are 1200-1500 rooms in premium segment, others are in mid-segment. And this is where the concept of houseboat village comes in."

It was after a whole year of negotiations that Kochi had managed to get into the prestigious ocean odeyssey. The MoU was signed in January. It's also the only port in the premier offshore race's 37 year old history to get a fee waiver. While Kerala tourism sees it as `an image excercise with enormous mileage, but within its small means', the race organisers are game to turn the port city's fortunes to a Cindrella story. And their part of the bargain is to take the race to "different and wider audiences," in India, says Glenn Bourke, CEO, Volvo Ocean Race. Within India, the company had looked at Mumbai, Chennai, Goa and Kochi ports.
Financial Express

$300-million offshore Shariah-compliant Indian Infrastructure Development Fund will invest in energy, road , highway and infrastructure projects.

2008-04-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

Shariah compliant funds queue up for launch in India
By Syed Ubaidur Rahman

India's first Shariah-compliant infrastructure fund is on its way. A finance groups 2i Capital Group in a consortium with Oman-based Amwal Investment SAOC has launched a $300-million offshore Shariah-compliant Indian Infrastructure Development Fund. 2i Capital Group operates in UK, Mauritius and India. The fund with a seven years tenure has been registered with Securities and Exchange Board in India.

It is one of hosts of steps taken recently in providing shariah compliant financial solutions in India. A number of companies are eying Gulf investors who are attracted by ever rising Indian stock market. These companies also target local Muslims with deep pockets who don’t wan to invest in stock markets due to lack of information on the subject or the perception that it is haram (unlawful) to invest in stock market. “A lot of money is being allocated for India from the Middle East. By launching a Shariah-compliant fund, we are looking at tapping investors from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries. The fund will invest in energy, road and highway projects. It will also focus on large urban infrastructure projects” says Vivek Sekhar, promoter of the 2i Capital Group.Globally, Islamic finance is estimated to be worth about $300-$500 billion, growing at approximately 20 percent annually. With this growth, the need for Shariah compliant financial products has also increased. The product offerings are similar to normal banking products; however the main difference is that the funds collected are not for the purpose of accumulating/ paying interest or invested in any negative businesses that harm morality of the society. The basic principle of Islamic banking is the prohibition of usury, interest.
With around 150 million Muslims in the country, India should have been in the forefront of Islamic banking initiatives, but it is yet to be permitted here. Though things seem to be changing with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s interest in the subject.
Given the financial clout of Indian Muslims and the prospective Arab investors, major Indian companies are opening up to the concept of Islamic finance. Indian heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd, Satyam Computer Services Ltd and Infosys Technologies Ltd are set to become a part of an Islamic Index for companies from Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs), to be released by the international credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s. This is the first time that an international rating agency has developed an index to help Muslim investors across the globe invest in specific Indian companies in an Islamic way.

This is also the first time that Standard and Poor has included Indian Stock options. In the previous two offering of the company it had no Indian company on its list of shariah compliant Islamic index.

When the international Islamic finance market is developing very fast, Indian companies are just realizing its importance. Kotak a private sector major bank in India some times ago also announced the launch of an international Islamic fund to help international investors buy Indian stocks that comply with Islamic shariah.

IDAFA is an important brokerage firm that deals in halal equities on Indian stock exchange. It offers equity share brokerage services since 1994 on Indian Exchanges, screening all the listed companies based on Islamic shariah guidelines. It does not deal in equity shares involved in Haraam businesses like production and sales of alcohol, tobacco, obscene entertainment and banking / finance companies.

The company claims that “we follow guidelines offered by Shariah scholars and screen companies on the basis of some financial ratios like ‘Debt to Market Capitalisation’, ‘Interest Income to Total Income’ and ‘Receivables to Total Assets’. If we find the companies to be extremely stretched on these financials, we disallow our customers to deal in them.”

In December 2006, Parsoli Corp. Ltd, an Ahmedabad-based stock brokerage, launched India’s first Islamic index, Parsoli Islamic Equity. Now Parsoli Islamic Equity includes 41 companies from the universe of stocks chosen from the National Stock Exchange’s broad-based index, the Nifty 50, and the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark 30-share Sensex.

The company also plans to launch and Indian Islamic fund. It will be first Indian Islamic Fund with underlying Indian stocks, benchmarked against the Parsoli Index. It is said that it will be sponsored by Baader Wertpapier Handels Bank, a German bank.

Now with increasing demand for Islamic banking and Islamic funds in India the London-based Securities and Investment Institute, an examining and training body that conducts finance qualification tests, is planning an India launch of its courses on Islamic Finance Qualification. Arwa Tapia, its Indian liaison officer for the institute says that the interest in the courses offered by Institute is increasing very fast.

The course that targets new and existing investment professionals specializing in Shariah-compliant finance, trade, investment and insurance, covers Islamic finance from both the technical as well as the Shariah perspective. Director of Parsoli Corp Zafar Sareshwala says that such qualifications are a move in the right direction, Indian fund mangers want a slice of the Islamic finance industry without calling their funds Islamic.

Early this year Parsoli Corp also organized the first Islamic Investment Opportunities conference in Mumbai to discuss Shariah-compliant opportunities. It shrewdly involved Markazul Maarif, a Mumbai based NGO that trains Deoband Ulama in English language to give legitimacy to its claims of being Shariah compliant. The conference was a good advertisement for Parsoli Corp and helped it reach more Muslim families willing to pump funds in Indian stock market.

KHABREIN.INFO

A Tonic for India’s Infrastructure Financing Woes: Global Capital Markets

2008-04-03T15:48:00.001-07:00

For India to continue growth on a sustainable path—investment in infrastructure is critical. Infrastructure bottlenecks are seen as one of the leading obstacles for India in realizing its economic growth potential. India’s information technology (IT) industry positioned India as global player, and grew with access to good telecommunications infrastructure sparked by a liberalized telecom market. But inadequate infrastructure—unreliable power supply, poor roads, and constrained airports—retards firms’ ability to scale up and limits foreign investment. In the paper “Complementing Economic Advances in India: A New Approach in Financing Infrastructure Projects” by SMU Cox Finance Professor Andrew Chen and co-author Jennifer Warren Kubik, a solution is offered which has significant implications for capital markets and development beyond the infrastructure project itself.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh estimated that $320 billion was needed for infrastructure development by 2012. Rajat Nag, managing director of the Asian Development Bank, suggested $500 billion was needed during the period. Regardless of the vast sums required to finance projects, private capital will definitely be required. India, with its infrastructure challenges, could benefit from a new approach that attracts needed financial resources through the invisible hand of global capital markets.

A New Approach
The proposed global capital market approach coupled with financial innovations could help smooth the frictions which lie at the root of India’s infrastructure development problems. India holds great interest among capital-rich, developed-country financial markets seeking investment opportunities and in developing countries positioning themselves in the global economy. Infrastructure spending in India is particularly politicized and could gain efficiencies through the benefits of global capital markets rather than at the hands of political agendas.

The basic idea is to raise capital through initial public offerings (IPOs) and securitizations globally for infrastructure projects and/or funds which specialize in certain sectors, such as power, water, roads, and so on. This approach can also complement the growing trend of infrastructure funds being developed worldwide. The private sector’s ability to attain efficiency in operations and management and profitability has been needed for numerous financial and economic reasons (often public debt or mismanagement) in countries which are privatizing public works assets—roadways, airports, and both power and water utilities.

A critical motivation for this research is that current approaches in financing infrastructure projects often lead to inefficiencies in negotiations, bidding processes, project costs—and often corruption. In many developing countries, political or policy risk may be faced by a foreign company with the possibility of significant capital losses when policy reversals or public “mood swings” occur. The Enron project, the Dahbol power plant, provides an example of the many inefficiencies and risks which can occur in an infrastructure project. While a $2.9 billion project fell apart, the economic opportunity cost to the Indian economy and consumer and what might potentially have been accomplished weighs in. The paper also analyzes the Enron case in tandem to the proposed new approach. Red tape is often cited as a phenomenon which hinders business opportunity; the market approach can help circumvent the tendency toward bureaucratic fiefdom and mitigate other poor policy choices.

A Problem of Plums
Chen coins the term ‘plums problem’ in infrastructure projects. The problem of plums arises when project companies bidding on a project have greater knowledge about a project’s value, risks, and costs in relation to the seller (government). With this specialized knowledge, the buyer (project company) can take advantage of the situation. This is an opposite notion as in the case of Akerlof’s illustrious lemons problem, where the buyer is disadvantaged. The plums story continues to repeat itself over and over in many an infrastructure project worldwide.

Using capital markets to overcome many of the shortcomings of existing approaches—both the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) and the popular PPP approach (Public-Private Partnerships), a better way to finance needed projects can evolve. In the case of India, this would create diversification, liquidity, and eliminate the plums problems that accompany the existing BOT and PPP approaches in financing infrastructure projects. It would also begin to unravel the perverse incentives pervading infrastructure spending in India. The tools available in today’s globalized world will allow developing countries to benefit as advanced economies have in raising capital and promoting projects or companies. This approach would bring true private sector participation for economic development and legitimize further business activity.

In Conclusion
While a good deal of media coverage and academic papers discuss India’s infrastructure woes, this paper details the problems inherent in projects and current approaches and offers a solution. This approach also couples financial innovation to mitigate downside risks and capture upside potential of projects and economic events. If adopted in some form, the capital market approach may give tailwinds to developing countries in a way never before possible. Having the basics “covered”—infrastructure being the foundation—can lead to further economic development, increased standard of living, and enhanced participation in the global economy. Thus, India would serve as a model country in adopting a modern approach for financing its far-reaching agenda of infrastructure development.

The paper “Complementing Economic Advances in India: A New Approach in Financing Infrastructure Projects” by SMU Cox Distinguished Finance Professor Andrew Chen and co-author Jennifer Warren Kubik is forthcoming in Journal Of Structured Finance.

SMU COX SCHOOL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH ARTICLE

Vallarpadam connectivity,SMART CITY lease agreement & SEZ status and Cochin Metro Rail peg-marking being undertaken

2008-04-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

KOCHI Apr 3, 2008

Compensation for evictees on Firday
Thursday April 3 2008 07:02 IST
Express News Service

KOCHI: The house rent of Rs 5,000 to each family of Moolampilly, Kothadu and Korampadom villages at Kadamakkudy Villages for 10 months and Rs 10,000 for transportation of the household articles will be disbursed on Firday, said District Collector A P M Mohammed Hanish at a press conference here on Wednesday.

The amount, provided by Cochin Port, will be disbursed at 11 am at special tahasildar ICTT Udyogmandal Office. Earlier, the Collector had said that the amount for house rent would be taken from the contingency fund of the government. But the Finance Department didn’t give its nod.

"The house owners from Kadamakkudy village who have surrendered their land for the project need to submit only documents which prove their identity for getting the house rent," said the Collector.

"The nine families of Moolampilly who were evicted should inform the district administration whether they want the value of houses and land under District Level Purchase Committee (DLPC) scheme or as per the Land Acquisition Act," the Collector said.

SMART CITY: The lease agreement for the remaining 11.5 acres of land for the Smart City project will be signed with the Kerala Government on April 9, said the District Collector.

Tecom officials will arrive in Kochi on April 9 for attending the second director board meeting of the Smart City Kochi. It is learnt that Tecom has also submitted an application to the Union Government for granting Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status to the 100 acres of land which was acquired from the KSEB.

It was on November 15 last year that the State Government had signed the lease agreement with Tecom for handing over the 234.5 acres of land for setting up the Smart City project at Kakkanad. But the remaining 11.5 acres of land could not be handed over as the authorities couldn’t evict the land owners.

METRO RAIL: The peg-marking of the Edappally station for the Metro Rail was disrupted by a private land owner on Tuesday, said the Collector. When the district revenue officials led by special tahasildar T K Baby and Meredian Surveys, a Chennaibased agency appointed by the DMRC for peg-marking, laid stone on the premises of Oriental Timbers, the employees of the firm pulled it out.

"The district administration will lodge a complaint with police against the land owner in this regard," said the Collector. "The peg-marking for the station has been completed from Aluva to Ernakulam South railway station," T K Baby said.

New Indian Express

10-point ‘Mission 2058 for the overall development of Ernakulam district in the next 50 years.

2008-04-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

KOCHI Apr 2, 2008

10-point action plan for development
Wednesday April 2 2008 10:25 IST
Express News Service

KOCHI: District Collector APM Mohammed Hanish on Tuesday, put forth a draft of a 10-point ‘Mission 2058,’ action plan for the overall development of Ernakulam district in the next 50 years.

In his list of priorities, the setting up of 10 suburban cities is the most important. These subcities would have the requisite infrastructure along with the moderate and self-sustained economy for common public.

These cities, according to him, would be devoid of the travails of a major city, he said. In order to resolve traffic problems of the city and to give a boost to the cargo movement, he suggested development of waterways.

The Collector said that the Rs 275-crore coastal highway, undertaken by the National Highway Authority (NHA) for the construction will be a major landmark in the development of the district. This coastal highway will connect Puthuvype to Munambum.

He said that the fourth point of his plan was giving emphasis for setting up Agri Export Zones (AEZ) in the agriculture-oriented eastern regions of the district.

Kochi airport would give a big boost to the export potential of vegetables and other farm products, he said. He added that the formation of AEZs by drafting in farmers would also help to avert the tensions in connection with the establishment of the Special Economic Zones.

He said that a suburban rail service connecting Kottayam and Thrissur via Aluva would be set. Kochi metro rail would serve as an extension of this suburban rail, he said. “In order to attract the world to Kochi, international educational institutions will be set-up in the eastern parts of the district, where land was readily available. It will create an educational revolution in the district,” the Collector said.

A proposal for the development of river and rural tourism potential of the district was also planned. While promoting Fort Kochi and Kumbalangi, new attractive places could be identified.

He recommended formation of clusters for industrial development similar to the rice mills cluster at Kalady. The Collector said that setting up industrial clusters across the district would help to secure benefits from Union and State Governments and create thousands of job oppurtunities. A project for revamping the drinking water facility of the district will be implemented.

Last but not the least, was the proposal for construction of homes for the homeless by identifying puramboke land. He said that beneficiaries would be selected from each taluks.

The collector was talking on the occasion of golden jubilee celebration of the formation of the district held at the collectorate on Tuesday.

After detailed deliberations among various departments, the 10-point action plan will be submitted for the consideration of the State Government, he said.

NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

COCHIN(KOCHI) Corporation Mayor Mercy Willams inaugurates AIR INDIA'S COCHIN DELHI NON STOP SERVICE

2008-03-31T07:54:00.000-07:00

Photo:Vipinchandran HINDU
KERALA Mar 31, 2008

Non-stop flight service to Delhi begins
Monday March 31 2008 10:51 IST
NEDUMBASSERY: The much- awaited non-stop flight service in the Kochi-Delhi sector was launched by Air India on Sunday. Kochi Corporation Mayor Mercy Williams inaugurated the service in the morning.

Sebastian Paul MP was the chief guest. MLAs Jose Thettayil and K V Thomas, Air India officials Patrick Xavier, Michael Joseph and Abi George and CIAL officials were present at the inaugural function.

The maiden direct flight IC 466 took off with 75 passengers at 8 a.m. The flight will have connection flights from Delhi to various destinations. Air India has also launched another direct service to Mumbai from Kochi. The Mumbai- bound flight IC 122 will leave Kochi at 9.40 p.m. and reach Mumbai at 11.25 p.m, said AI Area Marketing manager Patrick Xavier.

In the summer schedule which came into effect on Sunday, Air India Express will operate 41 services a week, said deputy manager (Corporate Communications) Abi George.

Earlier, there were only 38 flights. Airport manager Michael Joseph said that the proposed 10-hour recarpeting work on runway for six months would definitely disrupt the operation and reduce the number of schedules.

But the AI authorities said that they would try to operate the maximum services without causing inconvenience to passengers.

The present schedule of Kozhikode-Kochi-Sharjah service and back will be changed on May 16. AI will operate service from Kozhikode and Kochi to Sharjah separately. Vigilance manager K Gopi also attended the media briefing.

NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

Cochin airport to witness a 30% increase in flights

2008-03-29T03:22:00.000-07:00

Published: Saturday, 29 March, 2008, 02:31 AM Doha Time

By Ashraf Padanna

Cochin International Airport, India’s first corporate airport, released its summer schedule yesterday showing a growth of 30% in aircraft landings.
The schedule will come into effect from today. “In the new schedule, there will be 451 landings per week, of which 256 landings are domestic and remaining 195 landings are international,” the airport company’s managing director S Bharat said.
When the winter schedule for 2007 was released, (effective from October to March) there were 346 landings comprising 151 landings in the international sector and 195 in the domestic sector.
On the international sector, Kochi is now connected to most Middle-East destinations like Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain, Riyadh, Dammam, Salalah, Jeddah and Bandar Abbas.
With 77 weekly landings, both on domestic and international sectors, Jet Airways leads the pack followed by Indian Airlines (66), Kingfisher Airlines (42), Air India Express (41), Air Deccan (35), Paramount Airways (28), Inter Globe Aviation (28), Air India (16), Air Arabia (14), SriLankan Airlines (11), JetLite (14), SpiceJet (14), Emirates Airline (10), Oman Air (seven), Qatar Airways (seven), Silk Air (seven), Gulf Air (seven), Go Air (seven), Etihad Airways (six), Kuwait Airways (five), Saudi Arabian Airlines (three), Mahan Air (three) and Al-Jazeera Airways (three).
GULF TIMES

Work on 10 ROBs is expected to resume while construction of eight more may begin soon and 17 more ROB proposals to be cleared before JULY

2008-03-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

March 27 (IANS) The Kerala government has taken yet another U-turn. It now favours levying a toll for using railway over-bridges (ROBs). “There is no other way out and if we do not levy toll, then many projects will not take off,” Finance Minister Thomas Isaac told reporters here Thursday.

“We have changed our stance and recently signed the state support agreement with the central government for collecting toll on all National Highway projects,” he said.

With this, work on 10 ROBs is expected to resume while construction of eight more may begin soon. The government is also expected to clear before July proposals for another 17 ROBs.

“The state-owned Roads and Bridges Corporation would now take up the work and we will coordinate with the railway ministry. If necessary, the state government will provide viability gap funding to the corporation,” Isaac said.

“For ROBs and bridges, a MoU (memorandum of understanding) would be inked with local legislators and village council members that they have no objection to toll collection when the project is completed. If there is any opposition and they refrain from signing, then the project will not be taken up,” he said.
THAI INDIAN NEWS

COCHIN AEROTROPOLIS TO LEVERAGE KERALA'S STRENGTHS!!!!!

2008-03-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

The first airport in India built under the public-private partnership model, the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), has set an example for greenfield airport projects. With the airport commissioned in 1994 and opened five years later, CIAL declared dividends in its fourth year of operations—that, too, in the state of Kerala, widely considered investor unfriendly and with a record of labour unrest. While still small by many standards—it operates only 35 flights a day, 60% international and 40% domestic—CIAL has plans to emerge as a passenger and cargo hub in the rapidly growing southern region. CIAL managing director S Bharath explains to FE’s Satya Naagesh Ayyagary his flight plan for the future. Excerpts:

How would you rate CIAL today after eight years of operations?

In the last two years, we have done extremely well. In 2005-06 our turnover was Rs 100 crore with PAT of Rs 31 crore. In 2006-07, it was Rs 112 crore with PAT of Rs 34 crore, which is about 30%, compared to the industry average of about 8%. This is an unheard of figure in the aviation industry. CIAL has become a case study at Harvard Business School.

Do you think it will be possible to sustain that kind of growth?

We can. The reason: seven million people of Indian origin work in the Gulf. Of this, five million are from Kerala. That number is increasing at a high rate. Say 60% of them—or, three million—come home once a year. If I give them an opportunity to come home twice, it makes six million passengers. Double that it makes 12 million. At the moment, CIAL handles 2.8 million passengers. We are definitely going to be a success story over the next 15 years.

Aren’t you overestimating the opportunities for the future?

I don’t think so. We are also in the process of creating an aerotropolis leveraging the state’s strengths. We already have a master plan to make Cochin the gateway to Kerala. We are setting up the necessary infrastructure for tourism. That includes an 18-hole golf course with a country club followed by a couple of star and budget hotels. We will have an exhibition and convention centre. We will also have a trade and cultural village, amusement parks with shopping malls, food courts and multiplexes all showcasing Kerala. Whether eco-tourism or medical tourism, every aspect will be taken care of in partnership with Kerala Tourism.

We also have a couple of business initiatives like an IT Park, a BPO park and biotech park, preferably as SEZs. We have already submitted an application with the central government for SEZ status. So, this is going to be a first airport-based IT park as an SEZ.

We are going to set up an aviation academy. We are in talks with Cochin University of Science & Technology to partner with them and are also in talks with IIMs for a programme in aviation management. If 35 airports in the country are going to be privatised in the first phase, you can imagine the number of aviation specialists that will be needed. So, we want to fill that gap. We are setting up aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities under Cochin International Aviation Services Ltd, where we will hold 51% stake. We have floated a global tender for this and spoken with all the major players. We will tie up with a major airline for committed business.

We are also pushing hard for a flying school. We are talking to the old Cochin airport authorities in the naval enclave. We would like to use the old Cochin airport runway for a few hours a day and offer revenue share to the Indian Navy.

You also intend to make Cochin a hub for cargo as well. How do you plan to do that?

We are setting up a Rs 60-crore centre for perishable cargo with a Rs 15-crore grant from the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, which will handle 30,000 mt of export-import cargo a year. We have held talks with airlines like Etihad and Emirates to start a dedicated cargo service from Cochin. We are also constructing an exclusive cargo bay for this centre.

That apart, we have the normal domestic and international cargo operations spread over 60,000 sq ft, which we want to improve. Cochin is strategically close to the Gulf and also to Coimbatore, a centre for textiles, textile machinery, and poultry. Pollachi is the belt for fruits & vegetables, Tirupur for knitwear, and Ooty for flowers. We are going to have a seamless operation with bonded trucking bringing the cargo straight here.

We have also applied to the department of revenue, for electronic data interchange (EDI) for cargo movement, which exists only in the metros. Under the EDI system, documents would come electronically before the cargo arrives here so exporters can get their duty drawback immediately. We should get the system going by the end of this year and fully operational by April 2008.

With Hyderabad International Airport and Bangalore International Airport coming up and Kannur and Calicut promoting themselves, where do you see CIAL in this competitive scenario?

We are geographically and strategically located and have positioned ourselves accordingly. We are close to all those major cities: Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Also, the government of Kerala is marketing the state as a very hot Tier-II IT destination. As part of its IT mission, Trivandrum-Cochin-Calicut will be the hub and the district IT parks will be the spokes. Internationally, we have a domain population in the Gulf, which will never go down. Also, Hyderabad and Bangalore cannot offer the same beauty as Kerala in tourism. So, we will woo the business traveller to come to Kerala and combine business with pleasure. There will be competition, but they will not be able to take away any of our traffic as we are targeting a different segment. Sure, while we expect some rationalisation, we will able to take that well.
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/We-will-create-an-aerotropolis-leveraging-the-states-strengths/236033/0

Cochin airport a huge hit among passengers

2008-03-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

EXCELLENT SERVICE! One of the lowest cost airports ever built the Cochi airport is setting standards.

Cochin (Kerala): While the rest of the country debates over the efficiency of our airports, the Cochin International Airport is setting a benchmark of its own.

One of the lowest cost airports to be ever built, not only has it been a success model but is also turning out to be a huge hit among passengers.

An exporter who travels out of the country very often, Brijesh Pattai says he opted for Cochin because he wanted a hassle-free journey as he waits for the Air-Arabia flight to Sharjah with his sister Sudha and her eight-year-old child

“We always select Cochin airport for flying out as well as in. One it’s located centrally in the state, customs or the emigration behave so well, the service is so good,” says Brijesh.

And this small town airport is a hit with domestic flyers too.

This is the most excellent and beautiful airport. The service is very good,” says a passenger, Ruby.

The country's first airport built on private-public partnership, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) is now building the country's first aerotropolis or airport city over 1300 acres of land.

Apart from the airport, it consists of:

A 6.4 crore IT park.

A world class golf course and a country club.

A perishable cargo unit.

Five-star and budget hotels.

An aviation academy.

A hanger and maintenance unit exclusively for Airbus 380, the largest aircraft in the world.

And all this apart there is a world-class duty-free shop that is already doing great business.

“The aerotropolis is master-planned keeping in mind a theme. The theme is two pronged. One is to promote employment in the state of kerala and another is to promote tourism. To promote employment we are putting an IT park which will give job to 15-20,000 people directly and indirectly,” says MD, CIAL, S Bharath.

So from 57 to 122 crore rupees in four years, he Cochin airport is today a case study for students at Harvard and CIAL is a consultant to a number of countries hoping to build low-cost airports.

A decade from now this airport will change the way we look at civil aviation in this country.

But till then passengers can only hope that the standards set here are emulated across the country.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/cochin-airport-a-huge-hit-among-passengers/61876-3.html

VIDEO LINK

90 per cent of the over Rs.25,000 crore of Central investment proposed in Kerala has been earmarked for COCHIN ( Kochi)

2008-03-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

SPECIAL FEATURE: KERALA FUTURE PERFECT

Sunshine and beyond

FINALLY, when investment offers are liberally available and employment opportunities are being readily promised, Kerala seems to be left wondering: how would it all change its laidback cities and towns? In the coming months, Kochi, already among the fastest growing cities in India, will see investments to the tune of thousands of crores, making it a centre of private and public industrial ventures based on information technology and ports.

As much as 90 per cent of the over Rs.25,000 crore of Central investment proposed in Kerala has been earmarked for Kochi, especially for projects in and around Vypeen Island and Cochin Port. The Cochin Shipyard is set to become one of the largest and most modern ship-building centres in Asia, with a brand building unit. There is a mind-boggling array of other development projects, at various stages of implementation, in Kochi, including the flagship Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal that would make the Cochin Port a major hub port in the Indian Ocean region, the LNG terminal at Puthuvypeen, the single buoy mooring (SBM) offshore project of Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL), the petrochemical complex of the Gas Authority of India Limited at the Kochi division of FACT, the Kochi-Kannur-Bangalore gas pipeline, an LNG supply network for Kochi residents, a special economic zone under the Cochin Port Trust and rail and road links to these facilities, in addition to the Kochi metro rail project.

The other major investment destination is the IT sector, where the Rs.1,700-crore Smart City project alone is expected to generate 90,000 jobs in Kochi. Infopark’s expansion plans are already a major draw and several other mega IT initiatives are sprouting in the private sector.

Technocity, the electronics city mega project, the expansion plans of Technopark and the ambitious International Deep Water Container Transshipment Terminal at Vizhinjam are the mega development projects that are likely to make a big impact on road and rail links and lead to creation of jobs in Thiruvananthapuram, the other fast developing urban centre in Kerala.

A major worry awaits the IT sector. As real estate prices and living costs escalate, will today’s attractive destinations become as saturated as cities like Bangalore very soon? This is perhaps where Kerala’s IT planners see an advantage, given the geography of the State and its urban-rural continuum that has allowed the creation of an IT infrastructure right down to the village level. A Rs.10,000-crore development model now being proposed envisages development of hub-and-spoke model IT parks in all the 14 districts with the participation of the private sector.

When Tier-II and Tier-III cities go out of the reckoning, Kerala reckons it will be ready with Tier-IV or -V centres.

R. Krishnakumar

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20080411250712200.htm

(CIAL) plans to raise Rs2,500 crore ($618.4 million to finance an aerotropolis, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit and an aviation academy

2008-03-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Cochin International Airport Ltd's disinvestment plans slated for 2009

25 March 2008

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) plans to raise Rs2,500 crore ($618.4 million) through an initial public offer that may be offered anytime between April and December 2009.

The IPO, which will result in the divestment of 26 per cent of CIAL's equity, is meant to finance an aerotropolis, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit and an aviation academy. All these facilities are planned in the vicinity of the airport.

Of the 26 per cent stake to be disinvested, 20 per cent will be released for public subscription while 6 per cent will be offered as employee stock options.

http://www.domain-b.com/aero/airports/20080325_disinvestment_plans.html

Indian Railways is probing the possibility of having a high-speed rail corridor connecting Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and COCHIN( Kochi)

2008-03-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

Staff Reporter

Global tender to be called soon to appoint consultant

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Railway Board Chairman on a tour of the State

Says rail link to Vallarpadam will be completed by 2009

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KOCHI: The Indian Railways is probing the possibility of having a high-speed rail corridor connecting Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Kochi, K.C. Jena, Chairman of the Railway Board, said here on Sunday.

He told presspersons that six high-speed passenger corridors had been planned as a public-private partnership. Interested State governments and the Railways would pool equal funds for the same. A global tender would soon be called to appoint a consultant.

Infrastructure

Mr. Jena, on a Kerala tour to oversee railway development works, said the State had been allotted Rs. 349 crore for the coming financial year, as compared to Rs. 283 crore given the previous year. The aim was to develop infrastructure.

He said the railway link to the Vallarpadam international container transhipment project site would be completed by 2009.

On the proposed Angamali-Sabarimala rail link, he said the Railways was keen on carrying out the work, which, at present, had been held up by problems in land acquisition.

Mr. Jena said the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation and the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation had joined hands to begin a few package tours connecting various tourism destinations in the State. The possibility of introducing a railway package connecting Goa and Kerala was being planned.

Delay

On the inordinate delay in completing work on railway overbridges in the State, Rakesh Chopra, General Manager of Southern Railway, said that many contractors were unwilling to carry out the works.

This was in addition to problems such as the steep increase in prices of cement and steel and those related to land acquisition. Pending works would be revived soon. Discussions were held with the Managing Director of Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala.

Suburban services

He said the possibility of introducing suburban trains connecting neighbouring districts in Kerala was being studied. “Inadequate lane capacity is a major constraint. We are giving emphasis to speed up the ongoing rail-doubling work in the State,” he said.

Earlier, M.S. Jayanth, Chief Commercial Manager of the Railways, made a presentation on the augmentation of passenger and other amenities in railway stations in Kerala.

Abraham Jacob, Chief Operations Manager, and R. Ramanathan, Chief Administrative Officer (Constructions), were present.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/24/stories/2008032458830400.htm

DP WORLD MOVING AHEAD WITH VALLARPADAM PROJECT

2008-03-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

March 23,2008

DP World moving ahead with Kerala and WB plans
BL reported that leading global port operator Dubai Port World is going ahead with its current projects in Kerala and West Bengal where it plans to have a say in India’s cargo traffic across the Indian Ocean.

DP World’s projects at Kulpi in West Bengal and Vallarpadam in Kerala are both green field projects and greater part of the USD 500 million worth Indian investments, announced last year, has been invested in the development of these facilities.

Currently, DP World operates terminals in India at Mundra in Kutch district, Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal in Maharashtra, Chennai, Kochi and Visakhapatnam. It handled 4 million TEUs in India last year, including 650,000 TEUs at Mundra.

DP World is also currently developing facilities for the new container terminal at Vallarpadam within the Cochin Port Trust administration. With the commissioning of the new container handling facility at Vallarpadam, the existing container terminal will be handed over to the Cochin Port Trust administration for developing it as a non container facility. The Cochin Port Trust would develop road and rail links to the new facility in the first quarter of 2009.

DPW is also developing a multi-product SEZ spread over 1,040 hectares and a green field container terminal on the east bank of River Hooghly. The port will be connected to the National Highway network through a new four lane expressway and a new bridge across the river, both of which are being developed by the West Bengal Government.

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2008/03/23/NDAwMDI%3D/DP_World_moving_ahead_with_Kerala_and_WB_plans.html

KOCHI: Kerala-based Hykon Power Electronics (P) Ltd comes out to solve electrical pollution

2008-03-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

KOCHI: Kerala-based Hykon Power Electronics (P) Ltd, one of the leading players in the Indian power electronics, renewable energy and energy efficient products manufacturing sector, has launched the most up-to-date version of the Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC).

The UPQC is a revolutionary system that enables large-scale establishments like IT parks and other industrial establishments to solve power quality problems, which in turn minimises electrical pollution by reducing voltage imbalances and variations occurring as a result of gap in supply.

Like any other noxious-waste, electricity has become one of the biggest and silent pollutants.

Unlike the most noticeable effects of other pollutions, electrical pollution is the main cause of major equipment failures as well, expressed a company official.

The dynamic voltage restorer is an electronic power conditioner. This helps the losses from process shutdowns and product degradation, protects equipments from voltage fluctuations reduces faults on distribution systems caused by lightning strikes and so on.

According to Christo George, Hykon's Chairman and Managing Director, "Major power quality problems are harmonics and power factor. And the effect of these though vary from instrument to instrument leads to reduced motor life, fall in capacity, breakdowns, over heating and faulty timings".

Hykon Power Conditioners are 'designed to tackle irregularities in load and fluctuations in voltages, maintain grid power factor to unity, ensure uninterrupted production and supply'.

Hykon's UPQC has several salient features such as an Integrated Gate Bipolar Transister (IGBT) based Pulse with Modulation (PWM) Voltage Source Converter (VSC) Technology; maintenance of grid power factor near to unity, bringing down maximum demand (MD-KVA).

Regulating load voltage against sag, eliminating voltage imbalances, maintaining constant output voltage for a wide range of input voltage and fast correction time in less than one millisecond are the other features.

"These advantages are premeditated, to suit the power requirements of IT parks, commercial complexes, semiconductor industries, machine tool plants and process industries that require uninterrupted, quality power supply. The equipment is built fully according to the standards set by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and comply with all standard norms," said Christo George.

Hykon UPQC comprises of two components mainly; viz the STATCOM, a Shunt Active Filter and a Dynamic Voltage Restorer.

The STATCOM, a Static Compensator that takes care of the current injection for reactive power compensation, harmonic current cancellation and continuous monitoring of harmonic current demanded by the load and generates an adaptive waveform.

Maintaining the quality of power has become the most important factor in controlling electrical pollution. Many companies have introduced power controlling systems that can ensure clean electricity. Pollution has become a relative term with all human activities in his environment and "Electrical Pollution" is the most undefined among all varieties of pollutions.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Energy/Kerala-based_power_company_comes_out_to_solve_electrical_pollution/articleshow/2890573.cms

Rs.3 crore Fund for COCHIN(KOCHI) metro rail project allotted for land acquisition

2008-03-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Kerala - Kochi

Rs.3 crore allotted for land acquisition

Staff Reporter

For Kochi metro rail project

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fund to be utilised to pay compensation

Demarcation of land to be expedited, says Collector

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KOCHI: A day after the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) decided not to make any changes in the present alignment of the proposed Kochi metro rail project; the State government has further allotted Rs.3 crore to the district administration for the land acquisition process.

The fund will be utilised for meeting various expenses, including payment of compensation to those who surrender their land for the project, District Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish said here on Tuesday.

The government had earlier allotted Rs.1 crore towards preliminary expenses for the land acquisition process, including that of a joint inspection of the project route by DMRC and district revenue officials.

The DMRC had on Monday effectively closed the door on sections of shop owners who had been demanding a change in alignment.

While dismissing the demand for realigning the project through Shanmugham road instead of MG Road on grounds of technical and financial feasibility, DMRC had made it clear that any flip-flop with the alignment would have a delaying effect on the project.

The Collector said demarcation of land for the project would be hastened. Demarcation process in Thrikkakkara North, Aluva West and Edappally North had already been completed.

The notification authorising land acquisition would be issued in the remaining villages — Thripunithura, Elamkulam, Edappally North and South, Thrikkakkara North and Aluva West — through which the project passes. So far, the notification had only been issued in Ernakulam village.

Vallarpadam

A monitoring committee to be held on Wednesday will discuss the problems connected with the construction of a railway overbridge between Mulavukad and Vallarpadam as part of the rail connectivity for the Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal.

There had been complaints that the piling for the construction of the bridge had created cracks in the houses in the vicinity.

The meeting, to be chaired by Mulavukad grama panchayat president Prema Anilkumar, will be held at the Vallarpadam site office at 11 a.m. The Kanayannur tahsildar, police officials, representatives of the Cochin Port Trust and the aggrieved local residents will participate in the meeting.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/19/stories/2008031961780300.htm

CIAL to float SPV for airport development in India, abroad

2008-03-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

Mumbai, Nov 2 Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) plans to form a consortium with financial and technical partners for floating a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to provide consultancy in the fields of airport development and operations in India and other countries.

CIAL is keen on developing the 35 non-metro greenfield airports to come up in the country and is also looking at opportunities arising abroad.

“The decision on the consortium will be made shortly,” indicated S Bharath, managing director, CIAL. So will be the details on the shareholding pattern in the SPV, he added.

Some of the countries that have approached CIAL for assistance include the Republic of Ghana, Republic of Papua New Guinea in the Caribbean Islands, and certain Latin American countries. “Our cost effective airport model, successfully implemented by us, has impressed many, especially emerging countries,” Bharath told FE from Dubai where CIAL was a key participant in the Global World Class Airports conference.

CIAL plans to operate and manage these airports on a build, operate and transfer basis (BoT) or a build own and operate basis (BOO). “We plan to finance, run and provide technical support to these airports,” he added.

On plans of coming out with an initial public offering (IPO), Bharath said, “This step in airport development will improve our valuations and therefore, it makes sense to come out with the IPO once we are into the airport development business.”

CIAL, which pioneered airport privatisation in the country and currently manages the Kochi airport, is setting up an airport city - Aerotropolis. The master plan envisages the establishment of an aircraft maintenance, repair and overall facility (MRO), aviation academy, star/budget hotels, 18 hole golf course, convention/exhibition centre, logistics centre, amusement park, cultural village, etc. Apart from this, CIAL has earmarked a sizeable part of the land for developing an advanced information technology park (IT Park) to support IT/ITeS services and to provide the necessary amenities/facilities matching international standards on a cost effective platform for promoting the IT industry.

Globally, non-aero revenues account for a sizeable chunk (45% -50%) of the business of airport operators. In fact, Fraport AG derives 67% of its revenues from non-aero segments of the airport, according to a report by Motilal Oswal
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/CIAL-to-float-SPV-for-airport-development-in-India-abroad/235539/

COCHIN(KOCHI) SEAPORT capacities remain underutilised & can handle higher cargo volume

2008-03-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Business

Kochi port can handle higher cargo volume

Staff Reporter

The capacities remain underutilised

KOCHI: A study to prepare a business plan for the Kochi port suggests that the port berths can handle more than five times the present volume of break-bulk, dry bulk and other liquid cargo provided sufficient storage area is made available.

The report, submitted by TransCare, says an analysis of the port’s performance showed that the capacities remain underutilised to a ‘tremendous extent.’

All berths, apart from the ones used by India Gateway Terminal Ltd. operating the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal and the Cochin Oil Terminal, lay vacant most of the time. The port is not facing a capacity problem but has a commercial problem as it is ‘unable to attract sufficient cargo to attain reasonable occupancy figures of the quays.’

The study lists low berth occupancy, limited back-reach of the terminals and poor state of equipment and labour conditions as the major reasons for the low-capacity usage.

To improve the flow of cargo to the port from the hinterland, the study suggests a four-lane National Highway 47. The study also suggests that the port authorities lobby with the governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to cut down delays in crossing the border.

The study sees potential for developing a hinterland hub in south India to consolidate railway volumes for different ports such as Kochi, Tuticorin and the up-and-coming Vizhinjam and Colachel. The study also suggests that the best location for such a hub is Erode.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/20/stories/2008032051301900.htm

CIAL to float Rs 2,500 crore IPO

2008-03-20T05:36:00.000-07:00

Anirban Chowdhury / New Delhi March 20, 2008

Divest 26% equity via public offer slated between April and December 2009.

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), the consortium that runs the Kochi international airport, plans to raise Rs 2,500 crore through an initial public offer slated anytime between April and December 2009.

The IPO, which will divest 26 per cent of CIAL’s equity, will finance an aerotropolis, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit, and an aviation academy in the vicinity of the airport.

“Of the 26 per cent, 20 per cent will be for the public and 6 per cent will be given as employee stock options,” said S Bharat, managing director, CIAL.

CIAL is planning a tie-up with two international airport developers to finance its projects, ahead of the public offer. The consortium will include a technical partner and a financial investor and will be in place by May this year, according to company executives.

“The tie-ups with international partners and completion of projects by 2009 will increase our valuations and help in raising funds. That explains our plans to have an IPO next year,” Bharat added.

CIAL intends to have a five-star hotel, two budget hotels, a convention centre, an amusement park and a cultural park as part of its aerotropolis that will come up over 500 acres, while the MRO is slated across 40 acres.

The company plans to bid for other greenfield and brownfield airport projects with its international partners.

“We are looking at national projects in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In Maharashtra, we will look at the small greenfield airports such as Sholapur, Shirdi and Sindhdurg,” said Bharat.

The consortium is also in talks for developing a $500 million airport development project at Veerabila in Sri Lanka.
http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=lmnu1&subLeft=1&autono=317473&tab=r

Ways and means for COCHIN's(KOCHI's) Infrastructure BOOM!!!!!!!

2008-03-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

COCHIN(KOCHI)is on the threshold of a boom in infrastructure development. With support and financial aid from various agencies, including the Asian Development Bank and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the city is charting out its development dreams. Projects for road-traffic improvement, drinking water and sewage treatment will be implemented.

As the city hopes to step up its infrastructure, the biggest challenge faced by civic administrators is raising matching funds for the financial aid from the bank and the mission.

Bringing more sectors and segments under the tax net and increasing revenue collection are the options before them to help in realising the funds. Proposals to this effect were made in the annual budget passed by the Corporation council during the last week of March.

As the real-estate sector is one of the fast growing areas in the city, it is natural that Deputy Mayor C.K. Manisankar, who presented the budget, targeted the sector for garnering more revenue.

Introduction of a development cess, assessment of building tax based on the plinth area and self-assessment of building tax by property owners are some of the ways by which the Corporation hopes to raise additional revenue. It is too early to predict how these reforms and schemes will have an impact on the common man and industry. However, the 2007 budget marks the beginning of a new financial administration and management regime in the Corporation, as it is the first time that the civic administrators are planning development projects for which funds have been earmarked
Development cess

The development cess targets the fad among builders and property buyers for waterfront structures and apartments. The Corporation plans to collect the cess for development of marshy lands, which are being filled up to create water frontage for the plots. The cess will be collected while issuing permits for commercial buildings, apartment complexes and luxury housing projects built on reclaimed marshy land, the budget proposal says.

A permit from the Corporation has been made mandatory for the development of marshy land. The agency or individual who approaches the civic body for the permit will be made to construct drains with covering slabs and other facilities for preventing water logging. These facilities will have to be put in place according to the design and specifications of the Corporation. Connecting roads from the developed land will also have to be provided by the developer. The basic rate of the development cess has been fixed at Rs. 1,500 a cent. If the total area to be developed is below 25 cents, it will be Rs. 1,000 a cent. In case of holdings below 7 cents, there will no cess. However, a permit should be obtained.

Residential units with area below 3000 sq. ft have been excluded from the levy of development cess.

In the case of unauthorised development of land, the budget suggests that a development permit be issued only after collecting land-development fee and the cess, in addition to the fee for constructing the building.

New tax assessment

The Corporation has announced that it will introduce building tax assessment based on the plinth area in the city from April 1. Houses with area below 300 sq. ft and slums will be exempted from the levy. The system of self-assessment of property tax by the house owners based on the materials used for construction and proximity of the building to important roads and institutions will be introduced in the Corporation area during the current financial year. The new system is expected to bring in an additional revenue of Rs. 10 crore.

The civic body has proposed to target residential apartments rented out for commercial uses. The buildings thus rented out will be slapped with tax applicable to commercial establishments. The Corporation will be able to realise at least Rs. 3 crore from these buildings, the budget says.

The Corporation plans to seek the cooperation of residents' associations and organisations of traders for identifying buildings that have not been brought under the tax net or are under-assessed. The drive will help the civic body realise at least Rs. 3 crore, the budget says.

The budget says the tendency to construct additional floors on buildings, without permission, for commercial and residential use is prevalent in the city. The Corporation proposes to conduct tax assessment of such buildings during the current fiscal. The drive will yield an additional revenue of Rs. 1 crore.

It has come to the notice of the civic administrators that a large number of flats have been rented out in the city. However, the Corporation is not getting its due share of tax from these flats. Hence, the Corporation authorities have proposed to conduct the reassessment of tax for flats that have been rented out. The drive will be implemented with the cooperation of people.

Parking fine

Unauthorised parking on the city streets will invite fine once the Corporation starts implementing the decision to fine vehicle owners who park their vehicles outside the designated areas. The drive will be implemented with the cooperation of the Regional Transport Authority, city police, merchants' union, Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Industries and Ernakulam District Residents' Associations Apex Council. The Corporation plans to introduce this measure from May. The collection of parking fee will be intensified and cess will be collected from pay-and-park centres.

Market renovation

The decades-old Ernakulam market, Broadway and other trade centres will be renovated with public-private participation. A senior architect has been asked to prepare the design. It has also been proposed to constitute a renovation committee consisting of representatives of various stakeholders.

The development programmes in these areas will be implemented with the cooperation of traders and workers. A multi-level parking plaza has been proposed in the parking area at Mullessery canal. The traders at Fashion Street will be provided shops on the ground floor of the complex and multi-level parking will be provided on the upper floors. The project will be implemented on BOT basis.

A sum of Rs. 5 lakh has been earmarked for the project in the budget.
http://www.keral.com/realestate/builders_in_kerala.htm

COCHIN(KOCHI) CITY'S Residents associations seek development scheme from State Goverment

2008-03-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

Kerala - Kochi

Residents associations seek development scheme

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: The city regional committee of the Ernakulam District Residents’ Associations Apex Council (EDRAAC) has requested the State government to form a Kochi Development Scheme on the lines of the capital city development project and allot Rs.100 crore for the development of the city.

The demand was made at a meeting of the committee which was inaugurated by Deputy Mayor C.K. Manisankar.

‘No support’

The meeting observed that the State government was yet to give any financial support for the development of the city. A resolution adopted at the meeting also sought a meeting of elected representatives, heads of local self-government institutions and public sector units to discuss the development scheme.

It also urged the Kochi Corporation to take immediate steps to implement or complete various projects aimed at the comprehensive development of the area.

The projects listed included completion of approach roads to North and South railway stations, construction of new canals, pay-and-use toilets, awareness drive on waste disposal, steps against illegal residential apartments and drinking water project using water from Muvattupuzha River.

City regional committee president Jose Mohan presided over the function.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/19/stories/2008031961770300.htm

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) may get a second runway

2008-03-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

March 19 (IANS) Kerala has asked the central government to grant permission to more airlines to operate from the Kochi international airport, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said here Wednesday. “Several airlines have approached us to operate from Kochi. We have asked the centre (central government) to give necessary sanctions,” Achuthanandan, who is also the chairman of Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), told the state assembly.

“We will also look into the need for having a second runway at the airport,” he said.

Thomas Chandy, a first time legislator, moved a calling attention motion regarding services at the airport, particularly baggage handling.

“Getting luggage is a big problem and after inquiries it has been found out that the employees handling the baggage section are poorly paid and hence they have no incentive to work. The air conditioners do not function properly,” Chandy said.

Chandy, a Kuwait-based businessman, said he uses the CIAL to fly abroad two to three times a month and the service is appallingly poor. He said several airlines are on the verge of stopping their service and the outstanding dues from various airlines have piled up.

Replying to Chandy’s complaints, Achuthanandan said the ground handling at the airport is done by Air India. “I am told they are doing a ok job,” he said.

According to latest figures, CIAL is the fourth biggest airport in the country after Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, in terms of number of passengers using the airport.

Currently 24 different national and international airlines operate from the CIAL.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/kochi-international-airport-may-get-a-second-runway_10029107.html

CIAL to tap equity market

2008-03-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Abhishek Gupta
Friday, March 07, 2008 (New Delhi)
Even as the limelight stays on the GMR and GVKs, the Cochin international airport is moving fast towards becoming the first listed airport in India. Later this year, CIAL is looking at tapping the equity market

CIAL hopes to raise around Rs 1000 crore from the primary market, this will be done by diluting 20% equity in the company, valuing the company around Rs 5000 crore. The IPO process will start in a 6-month time.

Cochin airport is one of the most profitable airports. Even though on a small profit base with an EBITDA of 76%, it owes its success to non aeraunatical revenues, which are half the total and would be 75% by 2015.

The management hopes that this buyouncy in revenues will be eventually passed on to the consumers. "We hope to make the airport a landing and parking free airport," said S Bharath, MD, CIAL

CIAL doesn't want to be restricted to kerala.It wants to expand its wings across the country and plans to bid for airports that are coming up in the near future.

Having emerged as one of the earliest example of a successful public private partnership, CIAL hopes to replicate this model across the country. It is even looking for global partners for technical expertise.

http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/03/03215611/CIAL-to-tap-equity-market.html

Cochin International Airport to re-carpet runway from November to May

2008-03-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

18 March 2008

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has announced that it will undertake a re-carpeting project of its runway in order to ensure its continued and satisfactory performance.

CIAL, which has been operational since June 1999, has a 3400 metre long bituminous runway, and is capable of handling jumbo aircraft as well.

Because of the magnitude of the stress on the runway surface, which is always very high when an aircraft lands, a bituminous surface needs to be re-carpeted after 7-8 years of operation.

The runway of Cochin International Airport, which has been performing satisfactorily so far, will complete nine years of operations in June 2008.

The only available time for re-carpeting work is between November and May, as it cannot be carried out during monsoons. The airport authorities now propose to shut down all aircraft operations on the runway between 10 am - 8.00 pm local time, every day, during the months of November-May 2008.

The re-carpeting work will start from one end of the runway and progress to the other in a continuous and phased manner.

CIAL has already given advance intimation to all operating airlines and other concerned agencies and has asked them to reschedule their flights.

CIAL said that it does not anticipate any reduction in flight/passenger movements, or revenue, of the airport because of the re-carpeting work.

http://www.domain-b.com/aero/airports/20080318_re-carpet_runway.html

Cochin International Airport undertakes runway resurfacing project

2008-03-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

18-Mar-2008
Cochin International Airport announced it will undertake a runway resurfacing programme, to ensure the continued and satisfactory performance of its runway.

Cochin International Airport has been operational since June-1999. The airport has a 3400 mts long bituminous Runway, capable of handling aircrafts upto Jumbo Jet Category. This runway has been built ensuring strict quality standards laid down by ICAO.

The magnitude of stress on the runway surface is very high when an aircraft lands on the runway. A bituminous runway needs to be recarpeted after 7-8 years of operation, to maintain the runway surface to acceptable standards and also to ensure longer life of the runway. The runway of Cochin International Airport has been performing satisfactorily all these years and would be completing 9 years of operation in June-2008. To ensure the continued and satisfactory performance of the Runway, it needs to be recarpeted for the full length of the Runway. The bituminous recarpeting work cannot be carried out during the rain season and therefore, the working season for this kind of a work in Kerala would be between the months of November to May. Since this work requires a high degree of precision to meet the ICAO standards, it needs to be carried out during the daytime itself. In order to complete this critical work of the airport in one working season itself, a lot of advance planning and co-operation is needed from all agencies concerned.

It is proposed to close down the aircraft operations on the runway during the months of November 2008 to May 2008, between 10 am Local time ( LT ) up to 8.00 pm LT every day to handover the runway for the recarpeting work to the consultants and the contractors and once the day’s work is over, the runway would be open for operations for operation after 8.00 pm LT to 10.00 am LT the next day. The recarpeting work in the runway will be started from one end of the runway and will progress to the other end in a continuous and phased manner. Because of the recarpeting work, there will not be any operational difficulties for the runway when it is opened for aircraft movements in the night and all types of aircrafts can land and take off using the runway. It is expected that the entire recarpeting work can be completed in one working season of 6 months starting from November 2008 to May 2009.

CIAL has already given advance intimation to all operating airlines and other concerned agencies as per the standard practice followed in airports for this kind of work and has requested them to reschedule their flights as per the above plan. All the operating airlines have assured their co-operation to CIAL for taking up this critical work of the airport in a time bound manner.

CIAL does not anticipate any reduction in flight movements/passenger movements or revenue of the airport in view of the subject work. Also there would not be any difficulties to passengers and cargo movements through the airport. The runway recarpeting operations will also not affect the flow of tourists to the airport and the State of Kerala during this period. Both domestic and international flights would continue to operate at Cochin International Airport but the schedule of their timings would be different when compared to the present schedule of their timing

Even while upgrading the standards of the infrastructure at the airport continuously, CIAL always strives to ensure that the inconvenience caused to the passengers/airport users is minimal and that it continues to maintain its reputation as a passenger friendly and cost effective airport

(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 18-Mar-08

http://indiaaviation.aero/news/airline/8163/59/Cochin-International-Airport--undertakes-runway-resurfacing-project

COCHIN(KOCHI) AIRPORT runway to be closed for 6 months from Nov

2008-03-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

Kochi (PTI): Cochin International Airport at nearby Nedumbassery proposes to close down aircraft operations on the runway for six months from November this year between 10 am to 8 pm every day to complete recarpeting work.

Once the day's work is over, the runway would be opened for operations from 8 pm to 10 am the next day.

The runaway has been performing satisfactorily all these years and would be completing nine years of operations in June this year. To ensure continued and satisfactory performance of runway, it needs to be recarpeted for the full length, CIAL Managing Director, S Bharat said in a press release here Monday.

The bituminous recarpeting work could not be carried out during rainy season. Hence this kind of work in Kerala could be done only between November to May, he said.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200803171210.htm

COCHIN(KOCHI) PORT gets a shot in the arm for cruise terminal.Terminal to become operational in 2009-10.

2008-03-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

Shot in the arm for cruise terminal at Kochi port

K. A. Martin

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Eight cruise liners scheduled to call at Kochi in April

Terminal to become operational in 2009-10

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KOCHI: The financial year comes to a close with a bang for the Kochi port’s plans for setting up a world-class cruise terminal. The number of vessels calling at the port has gone up to 42 and eight more luxury liners are expected this month.

The total number of cruise liners calling at the port will go up to 50 this year, a significant improvement on the previous year’s 42. Port sources said the new financial year bode well as eight cruise liners were scheduled to call at the port in April.

Cruise liners that called at Kochi in the current year included Queen Elizabeth II, Legend of Seas, Renaissance VII and VIII and Victoria. Nautica, Pacific Princess, Star Flyer, Seabourn Spirit and Europa were among the liners that called at Kochi last year.

Latest visitor

The latest vessel to call at the port, on Monday, was Aurora with nearly 1,750 tourists and 900 crew members. The vessel arrived from Penang and left for Mumbai the same day.

TransCare Logistics India, which prepared a ‘Business Plan for Kochi Port,’ said there were nearly 350 vessels cruising around the world and, taking their routes into consideration, 150 of them could call at Kochi during their off season.

The plan suggested that efforts should be made to attract cruise vessels “to adopt Cochin as a turnaround port or a home port.” It said the cruise business of the port should be positioned “based on the major strengths of the State of Kerala as far as tourism is concerned.”

The estimated cost of setting up the facility is Rs.55 crore. When the terminal becomes operational as projected in 2009-10, the revenue will be Rs.10.67 crore in the first year from terminal operations and vessel-related charges.

Current facilities

Kochi, being the closest Indian port to the international maritime route, will leverage its geographical advantage as it plans its cruise terminal. The current facilities at the port include walk-in berthing priority and 24-hour pilotage.

The Cochin Port Trust had appointed MIR Projects and Consultants and its associate, the U.S.-based TranSystems, as consultants for the international cruise terminal project last year. The consultants will evolve a business plan and submit a feasibility report for which discussions are learnt to be in their final stages.

The terminal, envisaged as a tourist-cum-public facility, is part of the ambitious National Maritime Development Programme unveiled by the Union government. The Cochin Port Trust has set aside five hectares of waterfront for the purpose.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/17/stories/2008031756231900.htm

Simplex Infra bags Rs 580cr worth ICTT project COCHIN(KochI)Phase 1A Civil Works BY DP World

2008-03-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Simplex Infra bags Rs 580cr worth ICTT project at Kochi | INRnews

COCHIN(Kochi), India, November 24, 2007 - Simplex Infrastructures Ltd., one of India’s leading infrastructure solutions providers, today, has been awarded the largest marine project, ICTT Kochi Phase 1A Civil Works, at Kochi by DP World. The project is worth Rs. 580 crore and is proposed to be completed within a period of 24 months.
Commenting on this, Mr. Amitabh Mundhra, Director, Simplex Infrastructures Ltd. said, “We, at Simplex, are glad to be associated with one of India’s most ambitious maritime projects. It strengthens our aim to capitalize on the opportunities emerging in marine works apart from other infrastructure verticals. We are confident that this project will provide Simplex an opportunity to add to Vallarpadam’s development.”

“Simplex Infrastructures would also contribute towards the Social Responsibility and Community Service Program in Kochi. Keeping in mind the gaping demand for better infrastructure, we are committed to economic and social prosperity of the nation. Moreover, our order book standing at approximately Rs. 8,000 crore, is growing not only in terms of quantity but in quality as well,” he added.

By INRnews Correspondent
http://www.inrnews.com/realestateproperty/india/infrastructure/simplex_infra_bags_rs_580cr_wo.html

Infrastructure Lending becoming Top Priority of Commercial Banks

2008-03-16T11:05:00.001-07:00

INRnews
New Delhi, India, August 21, 2007 - Led by power, roads & ports and telecom sectors, the credit disbursement by the banks to the infrastructure sector has grown at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 31 per cent during the last six years but the maximum growth in the credit was witnessed in the last two years at 43 per cent and 36 per cent, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

The ASSOCHAM Eco Pulse (AEP) Study on ‘Bank Credit to the Infrastructure Sector’ for the FY 2000 to 2007 cover sectors like iron and steel, construction, petroleum, power, telecommunication, roads and ports. The Study revealed that compounded growth in credit disbursement has been highest in the power sector at the rate of 58 per cent followed by roads and ports at the rate of 46 per cent. Credit allocation to the telecommunication sector has grown at the rate of 34.4 per cent during the six-year period analyzed by the ASSOCHAM Study.

Even as massive investment of USD 384 billion is required to boost the infrastructure sector in the Indian economy, fast increase in the credit off take to this sector in the last two years has fuelled the GDP growth at the record level of 9 per cent in 2005-06 and 9.2 per cent in 2006-07. Amount of credit to infrastructure sector in the last two financial years was Rs. 1,87,337 crore and Rs. 2,56,056 crore as compared to Rs. 46,536 crore in the year 2000.

“Infrastructure Sector is the prime concern of the government as well as the industry. Secular growth in the bank lending to this crucial sector in an indication of sustained activity in the Sector quintessential for fast economic growth,” said Mr. Venugopal Dhoot, ASSOCHAM President.

Total non-food bank credit in the financial year 2006-07 was Rs. 17,52,439 crore, of which the credit disbursement to the infrastructure sector was Rs. 2,56,056 crore. Over the last six years, proportion of bank credit to infrastructure sector has increased from 10.8 per cent to 14.6 per cent.

While the credit allocation to the power sector has increased from Rs. 38,744 crore in 2004-05 to 57,863 crore in 2005-06, the rate of growth has declined from 97 per cent to 50 per cent in the same period.

CAGR of Major Infrastructure Industries
Sectors CAGR for FY 2000-2007 (in per cent)
Power 58
Roads & ports 46
Telecom 34.4
Construction 30
Petroleum 18.3
Iron and Steel 19

Bank credit to the telecom has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 34.4 per cent. It increased from Rs. 15,794 crore in 2004-05 to Rs. 17,713 crore in 2005-06, although the rate of growth has declined from 87.8 per cent in to 12 per cent respectively.

Roads and ports have seen a secular trend of increase in the last six years indicating the rising importance of ‘infrastructure sector’ in credit allocation chart of the banks, said Mr. Dhoot. Credit distribution for building roads and ports has increased from Rs. 14,472 crore in 2004-05 to Rs. 18,975 crore in 2005-06, recording the compound annual growth rate of 46 per cent.

According to a recent RBI estimate, the combined deployment of bank credit to power, telecommunication and roads & ports has increased by whopping 60 per cent from Rs. 89,946 crore in 2005-06 to Rs. 1,43,520 crore in 2006-07.

Construction, according to ASSOCHAM AEP is one another sector which has witnessed unabatedly high growth in the bank credit disbursements. While the compound annual growth rate of credit to construction for the last six years is 30 per cent, boom in housing and commercial real estate activity has led to a rise of 70 per cent in 2005 and 45 per cent in the year 2006 in the credit intake. Allocation of bank credit to this sector has increased from Rs. 13,867 crore in 2005-06 to Rs. 20,123 crore in 2006-07.

Petroleum sector registered the CAGR of 18.3 per cent during the period of financial year 2000 to 2007. It has received relatively less attention of commercial banks than other infrastructure sectors, as the growth rate of credit allocation to the sector declined from 54 per cent in 2005-06 to 20.4 per cent in 2006-07.

Credit allocated to iron and steel sector has increased from Rs. 50,385 crore in 2005-06 to Rs. 63,374 crore in 2006-07. The annual growth rate of this sector was 40 per cent in 2005, which declined to 25 per cent in 2006-07 as the CAGR for six-year period was 19 per cent.

The total outstanding credit to the infrastructure sector for the period 2000-2007 has been Rs. 869512 crore, around 31 per cent of the total credit by the commercial banks.

By INRnews Correspondent
http://www.inrnews.com/realestateproperty/india/infrastructure/infrastructure_lending_becomin_1.html

Cochin airport to have free landing and parking: Bharath

2008-03-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

S Bharath
Thursday, March 13, 2008
NDTV: Sir, Cochin airport is the first public-private partnership airport in India and you have been a phenomenal success with margin of 73 to 76 per cent. The airport has also been running fine. Please tell us the reasons behind its success.
Bharath: You rightly said that Cochin airport is a first public-private partnership airport. The airport came as a result of initiatives of the people of Kerala. The airport uses of the NRIs who are working in the Gulf got along with the government of Kerala to put up the airport. The Government of Kerala, the airport users, few industrialists, some of the NRI industrialists and stakeholders got together to put up the airport. The success story of the airport is because, we have been very aware of the governmental needs as well as the needs of the shareholders. So, we have been able to protect their interests in a very balanced way. Second, though the government is a major player in the company, there has not been much government interference in the affairs of the company. So, the company has been able to do well.

NDTV: So, you are also in a sweet spot that you are in Kerala. Larger part of the Gulf’s revenue comes out of Kerala. You probably are the biggest international airport in the state and this gives you an edge. How much of that contributed to the success of Cochin airport?

Bharath: One good thing about Cochin is that, it is equidistant from north and south of Kerala. So, our feeder population is about 100 – 150 kms on the either side of the airport. We have got a very good infrastructure at a very cost effective price. Our runway length is 3.4 kms. Our charges are also very reasonable.

NDTV: Earlier the airport has the highest ground handling charges. Now, though it is still higher compared to other airports, the airlines always complain that you do not give them reasonable rates. What is the reason behind that and what are you doing to correct?

Bharath: There were complains earlier regarding the high ground handling charges at Cochin airport. When the airport started, we went through the bidding process. We asked for highest security deposit from the bidders and also requested them to take a stake in the airport. Air India was able to fulfilled both the conditions and so we gave them the bid. Since it was a unilateral bid, so they were fixing high rates initially for ground handling. Over a period of time, we realized that it will hurt the airport operator and so in the last two- three years, especially from the time I took over, we made the rates very competitive. I don’t think it will be more than 10 to 15 per cent from other airports. As if now, it is much better than before.

NDTV: Do you see breaking your ties with Air India coming forward or you want them to reduce rates?

Bharath: As per the agreement with them, they have to consult the airport operator before fixing up charges. So, obviously, we would like more airlines to fly in our airport. We also have the vision that in the year 2015, we want it to make a landing and parking free airport, which is a very ambitious vision. I would definitely like the rates to be competitive and so we always emphasis to Air India that the rates cannot hurt the airlines. First, they have responded positively to our needs. Second, the agreement with Air India is getting over by June 2009. After that, airport operator can do the ground handling or we can have a fresh bidding process where we would fix certain service standard and cost effective process. Both these parameters will be the basis of the bidding process to ensure that passengers and airlines don’t get hurt where we would be able to provide best of the facilities at a cost effective price. That is what the airport operator has in mind.

NDTV: Talking about the revenues and financial, what is our revenue right now and where do you see it going in the next five years?

Bharath: Last year, the gross revenue was Rs115 crore and EBITDA figures were 73 to 75 per cent, which is an unheard figure in the aviation or any infrastructure industry. We also had Profit Before Tax (PBT) figures of 42 per cent and PAT was 39 to 40 per cent. That’s why we have been a business case study for Howard Business School and Indian Institute of Management. Their students came and had detailed investigation to find out how the model become successful and how we maintained high margins in a cost effective price. The main reason is our effective work culture. We kept our employee strength very low and so the employee’s efficiency to revenue contribution has been high. We are very sensitive to the needs of our stakeholders and the most important is that, we are able to gain revenue from the non-aeronautical sources. That’s a very powerful source. Almost 45 per cent of our gross revenue comes from the non-aeronautical sources.

NDTV: The government is a major stakeholder in your company so it brings good advantage of transparency and responsibility but do it sometimes bring political interference and interference in other matters such as hiring, labour and things which can get sticky sometime. We have seen in the recent past that airport do get into the mess like that so how that had been a challenge for you?

Bharath: The credit for this should definitely go to Government of Kerala because from the beginning it had a hands-off approach. The chief minister of the state is the Chairman of the board with four other ministers are the directors. All decisions, political or not were debated to the board. If it is a Left government, we have other directors who are industrialists of Kerala. Once the board takes the decision on a particular issue, then the CEO has to implement the policy. A certain amount of government’s initiative is important for policy making, to lobby in the state itself for example, if the CM is in the board, we could get certain clearance and certain benefits from the state government and Government of India quickly. Other advantage was that, we were giving importance to people who had lost land and houses for the benefit of the airport. With government, corporate social responsibility was also inculcated into us. We empowered people around the airport, in terms of employment and giving opportunities. The government also balanced it very well so that we can get best of both the world.

NDTV: You also started outsourcing way back in early 2000 that was something completely unheard of. Did it work well for you as a good formula?

Bharath: That was one of the reasons for the success story. If you know about the Airport Authority of India, all the staffs, even the non-core areas were manned by them. The labour cost was very high. As far we are concerned, only the core area was kept with the airport operator and the non-core area was outsourced. Outsourcing was done with a human face where we give first preference to people who lost their houses and land for the airport. So, even though we outsourced to certain agencies, we asked them to give certain percentage of reservation to them, subject to qualification. We are able to get competitive price to those. So, that’s why were able to maintain our profitability, which in turn we passed to the company, staffs and people around the airport.

NDTV: Moving away from the Cochin airport to the company, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), are you looking at expanding and for what kind of expansion?

Bharath: No, this is an in-house model developed in India and it has been a success story. Nowhere in the world, the airport has been built in such a cost effective price and so we want to carry this model forward. We want to share this experience both in India and abroad. Recently, the Government of Srilanka has invited us. They went through the international bid and they have invited Cochin airport to build an airport for them in Southern Srilanka. They want the airport to be built on similar lines as Cochin airport. We have the expertise and so we don’t want to expose to huge investment where loss can also be made. To leverage it, we are in talk with global players; both financial and technical players and we planning to built a consortium. It should be a special purpose vehicle(SPV), where CIAL will take a majority stake and other consortium holder will be given a stake. That particular SPV will start bidding for airports, both India and abroad.

NDTV: The airports that you are looking in India will be larger one or you are focusing on smaller airports?

Bharath: Our focus will be on smaller airports because we are specialized in smaller and cost effective airports. We would not like to get into Delhi or Mumbai airports where the revenue models are very high. We would like to make the airport cost effective so that the passengers do not get charged very heavy. We want to make passenger-friendly airport, where they will get best service and most importantly connectivity. Today, if you look at the economy boundary with the world compared to the days of the past, wherever there used to be port, there was development. Today, whichever countries have more airports is bound to develop because of quick connectivity.

NDTV: Apart from tying up with the global players, what will be your internal accrual plans. Are you looking at IPO or debt?

Bharath: Ther are some small legal issues that we have to sort out with certain agencies in few month. It will be in the interest of airport operator to be listed because we will have access to more funds and agencies could give us credit rating. So, we are seriously looking to go for an IPO after some projects. Apart from running the airport, we are in the process of setting up an airport city. It is a full-fledged master plan.and the thrust is to promote the IT industry for the employment of the youth of Kerala and promote tourism.

NDTV: Moving to your non-aeronautical resources that contribute a huge chunk of your revenue profit. How is that worked out for you? Retail seems to be a big chunk of that and duty- free is a huge contribution. So how did you strike that model and what you learned for future airports?

Bharath: For success of the airport, the operating cost should be low and have to rely upon non-aeronautical revenues. The passengers should be given cost-effective price. We heavily relied upon non-aeronautical revenues and one of our greatest success story is the Cochin duty-free. We have been rated as the best duty-free shop in India by a duty-free retailing credit agency. We have leveraged our retail in such a way that it is contributing 45 per cent of our gross revenue.

NDTV: Will that contribution will remain going forward. Do you see it 45 per cent in the future?

Bharath::As of now, it is 42 to 45 per cent, but we want to make it 6 per cent in the next three to four years. We have the vision that by the year 2015, we want to make a landing and parking free airport, which is a very ambitious vision. We will develop it in a joint venture or on a lease. By 2015 to 2020, almost 75 per cent of our revenue will come form the non-aeronautical sources.

NDTV: Earlier we talked about the high charges, now we have a low-cost airline flying to the Gulf i.e Air Deccan and it has announced its plan to do it very soon. So, are you looking for some kind of alliance with them?

Bharath: Any airlines which will have base operation from Cochin will be given concessions.We can also give discount in landing and parking fee if the model is suitable for us.

NDTV: The recent Hyderabad airport has managed to convince the Andhra government to cut ATF cost and it has come down significantly. Is that going to have an impact in your traffic?

Bharath: It is a bold decision of the Andhra government and it will help the passengers in the long-run. But airport around the Hyderabad will take the biggest hit. All the airlines will have a base around Hyderabad, as the fuelling will be cheaper there. It could also affect 5 to 10 of our revenue. It was a demand from the long time and I think it is a right decision. But the steep cut signifies a monopolistic advantage.

NDTV: Do you see other state governments taking a similar move?

Bharath: They will have to do it. If other government wants to retain their traffic, they have to do that. Otherwise the base operation will shift. The state governments should take a realistic approach and bring down the ATF fuel cut.
http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/03/13135041/Cochin-airport-to-have-free-la.html

The infrastructure trap COCHIN(KOCHI) is growing rapidly. But does it have the necessary infrastructure to cope with this fast-paced growth?

2008-03-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

SKEWED DEVELOPMENT: Narrow roads and towering buildings now characterise many localities in COCHIN (Kochi).

Does Kochi have the infrastructure to match the `vertical' growth it has witnessed in recent years?

The real estate boom has led to more and more high-rises being constructed in the city and its neighbourhood and as the pressure on the available infrastructure mounts, there are concerns as to how far the city can support growth on this scale.

Water scarcity

Take water for instance. While one group says that water resources are aplenty, and it is the skewed distribution system that is at fault, another group says that water resources are limited and it is the increase in population has resulted in the scarcity of water.

S. Balakrishnan, president of the Ernakulam District Residents Associations' Apex Council, said that the ruling authority should be able to get work done and complete all projects of public importance before time.

Infrastructure will make or mar the growth of a city, he said. Our city is waiting to grow but it is most likely that the city would face a difficult situation if every one concerned does not do what they are supposed to do, he said.

Archaic rules

The building rules are archaic to start with, he said. They talk about having a specific width between the wall and a building. The width of the gate may also be specified but the approach road to the building may fall short. There are no rules for that, Mr. Balakrishnan said.

As far as water is concerned, it is the duty of every citizen to use this resource judiciously. As far as possible, the people should have a twin supply system in homes, he added.

Builders' charge

One apartment building is given only one connection, whether there are 10 flats or 35 flats, Says Mathew Chakola, chairman of the Kerala Builders' Forum. Even as usage of water is limited in a flat, the builders are required to find their own source of water for the residents.

A single house next to the apartment block would also have a connection, but here there are no restrictions about using it for only drinking purposes. People in individual houses use potable water for all their washing, cleaning, toilets and gardening too. It is a kind of discrimination towards people living in flats, said Mr. Chakola.

Most of the builders try to provide their own source of water because they cannot depend on getting enough water supply from the Kerala Water Authority. "We have been hearing about various schemes to improve the water supply for the last ten years or more. Nothing seems to have happened so far," says K. Lava, managing director, Skyline Foundation and Structures.

"In all our projects, we dig borewells and also implement rainwater harvesting and set up a sewage treatment plant so that the basic amenities are met," Mr. Lava said. The Government should realise that they have to improve the infrastructure to help make this city prosperous.

A borewell may not be the solution in all places, said George E. George, Managing Director of Infrahousing. Residents buy half the water they require, he said. Cost of water is not high here compared to other States, he added.

Ambitious project

An ambitious project formulated by the Water Authority would meet the demand of the growing city, says a senior official. He said that twin projects to bring 385 million litres of water a day from Periyar and Muvatupuzha would solve the problem of supply.

The distribution system, which is old, also is being changed part by part, he said. The 1,100 crore project would provide water to Kochi Corporation and the 12 surrounding panchayats, he added. The project would be able to meet the demand up to 2036, he said.

The authority also expects a Rs.2000-crore sewage project to be sanctioned. The city has only two small zones where a sewerage system exists.

Good roads, water and power supply are basic for any development. The Government is collecting a good amount of tax on housing, road and other taxes, but the quality of service is rather poor, Mr. Lava said.

Bad roads

Maintenance of roads takes a backseat till some accident brings the issue into focus. Roads, which are the backbone of a city, give the first impression. Anyone coming into Kochi would be aghast by the narrow and badly maintained roads.

One or the other major city road is always in a state of disrepair. The Government must ensure that the contractors give a warranty of five years for a road that they lay, said Mr. Lava.

"It may cost a bit in the beginning but over the years, the cost would be minimal," he added.

The civic authorities, responsible for the maintenance of roads, are more interested in blaming different departments for not getting the work done.

Deputy Mayor of Kochi Corporation C. K. Mani Sankar maintains that the Corporation takes up the repair of any road that comes within its jurisdiction either directly or allotting funds to a particular councillor, when he or she makes a demand.

He says that the Corporation is ready to take up the Kaloor-Kadavanthara road too, but the responsibility lies with Greater Cochin Development Authority, which is not able to take a decision since the agency has been without a head for quite some time.

Decongesting roads

However, developing different routes in the city does not seem to be a major part of planning. Developing new routes would help in decongesting the roads to a big extent.

The number of vehicles on the city's main arterial roads would come down if interconnections are provided to reach different parts of the city without touching the arterial roads. All these things need to be done with planning and vision.

But, unfortunately, the authorities concerned, whether it be the local body or a development agency or the administration and the private parties, resort to only short-term planning.

http://www.hindu.com/pp/2006/09/30/stories/2006093000960100.htm

Rupees 3,048 crore COCHIN METRO RAIL work will begin next month

2008-03-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

Civil work on Rs 3,048-crore Kochi Metro Rail is slated to get cracking next month. The Elevated Light Rail Kochi Metro PPP would be ready for public use in three years, according to M Vijayakumar, Kerala minister in charge of rail transport.

“Only about 26 hectares of land (as the rail in elevated) will be required. Of this 16 acres is of private ownership. Within a year, the necessary land acquisition can be completed,” Vijayakumar told the Assembly in reply to a question.

It is DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) that’s implementing the Kochi public transport PPP through a SPV (special purpose vehicle).

The Kerala governement had earlier decided to put 15% equity (Rs 450 crore) in the new entity.

Kochi Metro rail is planned in the 26 km stretch between Tripunithura and Aluva. “We have noticed that the width of National Highway may get affected when the concrete pillars are set up for the elevated light rail.

Some technical solution for this problem will be thrashed out soon,” the minister said.
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Work-on-Rs-3-048-crore-Kochi-Metro-rail-project-to-start-next-month/283354/

India's Cochin Shipyard seeks govt OK for IPO-source

2008-03-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

Reuters) - Indian state-owned Cochin Shipyard Ltd is awaiting government approval for an initial public offering to help raise funds for building a new dock and meet rising demand for ships, a company source said on Wednesday.

"We submitted a proposal to the government last month," the senior official, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters.

Another company official also confirmed the plan but declined to give details of how much the company, which can build ships up to 110,000 dead weight tonnage at its yard in the southern state of Kerala, aimed to raise in the IPO.

There are 32 shipyards in India, including seven owned by the government, while a jump in demand for ships has brought many private companies into the fray.

Consultants KPMG said in a report last year that the shipbuilding industry in India was expected to invest about 185 billion rupees ($4.6 billion) over seven years for capacity expansion and new yards.

Pipavav Shipyard, a private-sector yard co-founded by by Indian engineering and construction firm Punj Lloyd (PUJL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), is awaiting the market regulator's approval for an estimated 12.5 billion rupees IPO.

Other firms such as ABG Shipyard (ABGS.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Bharati Shipyard (BHAR.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) are also expanding, with annual industry sales expected to reach $20 billion by 2020 from about $5 billion, i-maritime Consultancy Pvt Ltd said. ($1 = 40.1 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Arpan Mukherjee; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSBOM6584320080220

INFRASTRUCTURE COCHIN(KOCHI) HERALDS A NEW ERA OF DEVELOPMENT

2008-03-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

Partnering on a development agenda for Kochi the Cochin Special Economic Zone (CSEZ), the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and a host of other key agencies are preparing to propel Kochi as a free port a la Singapore. Powered by its unique advantages and synergised development drives, the ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’ is all set to take off into the next stage of economic progression by emerging as a major economic and logistics hub in South Asia.

Combine the unique geo- strategic positional advantage of a modern, all-weather port on an international shipping trunk route that carries over 4000 ships a year, with the ease of global access rendered by an international airport that hooks up world’s economic nerve centers. Add to it, the instantaneous, high-bandwidth connectivity rendered by two international submarine cables uniquely landing at a futuristic IT destination. And, bring the economic upsurge in the area under the umbrella of an Economic
Zone that accords the region, the status of a ‘foreign territory’ within India, free from customs intervention. The blueprint for Kochi to develop into a multi-modal logistics hub like Singapore revolves around this strategy.

A modern port that finds prominent place in the world-shipping map, Cochin Port will soon develop a sprawling 1000-acre area into a ‘free port’. Coming up at Vallarpadom and Puthuvypeen in the immediate vicinity of the existing port infrastructure, this port-based Special Economic Zone will house a Hub Container Transshipment Terminal, Bunkering Terminal, Ship Repairing Facility, LNG Terminal, and other state-of-the-art port facilities, besides pre-built manufacturing environs. The realm of a Special Economic Zone embracing world-class port infrastructure, Kochi will stand to gain immensely from the global trend in mass cargo movements in gigantic mother vessels to strategically positioned aggregation centers. Activating a fleet of feeder services to the ports at final destinations, a transshipment terminal naturally evolves as the logistic and economic hub in the region. Involving a whopping capital outlay of Rs. 55 billion, this port-based Special Economic Zone is also expected to spark off manifold growth of export-oriented industries in Kochi.

In harmony with the developments taking shape at the Cochin port, the Cochin International Airport, embarks upon a series of strategic projects including an aircraft maintenance facility, refueling hub and a multi-modal cargo complex. The arms of the CSEZ reaching out to this first and only private sector airport in the country, these projects will kick-start major economic activities in the region, especially by activating a flow of foreign capital. International air routes including A330, G 462,W15 and R457 carrying 150 flights a day over-flying this strategic airport, the 300-acre Special Economic Zone will develop Cochin International Airport into a regional multi-modal logistic hub.

Enclaves in the Special Economic Zone mould will, in stages, flower along the 30-kilometre long Seaport Airport-Highway, which is being developed into a hi-tech industrial corridor. Brimming with manufacturing and trading activities, major milestones on this highway include the CSEZ and the Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) of the Kerala State Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA). As the CSEZ embarks upon a capacity building process to cope up with increasing demand for space, an exclusive zone for IT units is being established in the EPIP. An industrial area forming part of the Special Economic Zone, the EPIP is all set to host a major boom in IT Enabled Services, thanks to the high bandwidth connectivity rendered by the international submarine cables, SAFE and SMW-3, uniquely landing at Kochi. A Rs.2400 million IT- corridor is yet another major venture coming up on the seaport-airport highway.

With pivotal agencies coming together to build up world class industrial and social infrastructure, Kochi stands to gain significantly from the power of synergy. Home to India’s largest shipyard, a major oil refinery, two power generating stations and some of the top industrial establishments in India, this commercial capital of Kerala is poised to take off into the next stage of development, emerging as a major logistics and economic hub.

http://www.ksidc.org/infinity/infinity_nov02.htm

Cochin Shipyard outperforms all Foreign and Indian Shipyards and should now be privatised

2008-03-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

An ariel view of CSL Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is the largest ship building yard in India. It is located in COCHIN(KOCHI) KERALA INDIA

Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in the year 1972 as a fully owned Government of India company. In the last three decades the company has emerged as a forerunner in the Indian Shipbuilding & Shiprepair industry. This yard can build and repair the largest vessels in India. It can build ships upto 1,10,000 DWT and repair ships upto 1,25,000 DWT. The yard has delivered two of India’s largest double hull Aframax tankers each of 95,000 DWT . CSL has secured shipbuilding orders from internationally renowned companies from Europe & Middle East and is nominated to build the country’s first indigenous Air Defence Ship.

That the public sector shipbuilder, Cochin Shipyard, delivered a bulk carrier built for Denmark’s Clipper Group, 105 days before the scheduled date holds an important message. India’s shipbuilding industry is coming of age.

Its growing efficiency is suggested by the fact that the export of vessels has risen from less than 40 per cent of the total production a few years ago to more than 65 per cent today. With shipyards at leading global hubs like Japan and South Korea becoming saturated and fully booked until 2011, one has to wait for five years after placing orders.

Indian shipyards, however, are able to deliver in half the time. Leading this export drive are private sector shipyards whose exports account for over 85 per cent of their total orders.

Nevertheless, with a capacity of two million tonnes, India’s total market share in global shipbuilding is just 0.4 per cent. During the last few years, however, Indian shipyards are increasingly becoming significant players. The capacity of Indian shipyards is expected to double to four million tonnes by 2012 and to 19 million tonnes by 2017, when India’s market share will be 7.5 per cent.

Despite the easy availability of raw materials as well as talent in India, it still costs 55 per cent more to build a ship here compared to China or Korea. Unfavourable government policies and lack of adequate infrastructure are said to be the reasons for the holding back of the Indian shipbuilding industry, according to a paper by Credit Analysis and Research Limited.

Out of the 28 shipyards in India, nine are in the public sector. Public sector shipyards should now be privatised and bureaucratic hurdles hampering the entry of foreign players must be removed. The government should play its role efficiently in providing adequate infrastructure, so that transportation costs of raw materials are minimised and other requirements like land and power are met easily.

Ninety per cent of India’s trade by volume and 70 per cent by value is moved by sea. There is also high demand for offshore supply vessels because of intense oil exploration activities. India needs to capitalise on this as well as the global scarcity of shipbuilding to expand its market.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/Setting_Sail/articleshow/2850250.cms

COCHIN(KOCHI) City Corporation's 20 crore solid-waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram is nearing completion

2008-03-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

— Photo: Vipinchandran

PERMANENT SOLUTION: Machinery installed at the Brahmapuram plant.
Kochi city to get spick and span soon
The commissioning of the Brahmapuram solid-waste treatment plant, possibly by March-end, will address anxieties related to waste disposal in Kochi, says K.S. SUDHI.
A solid-waste treatment plant of the Kochi City Corporation at Brahmapuram is nearing completion. Civic authorities hope to inaugurate the Rs. 20-crore plant by March-end.

Many residents of the city hope that once a scientific system for collection and processing of waste is put in place, the stinking heaps of garbage piled up along the roads will become a thing of past.

They, especially apartment dwellers, hope to breathe easy as far as domestic waste management is concerned.

The coming weeks are considered crucial for the plant as most of the remaining works are expected to be completed during this period, says V.S. Sunilkumar, project engineer of the FACT Engineering and Design Organisation, consultant for the plant.

The treatment plant, considered the heart of the complex, is spread over 90,384 sq ft. Work on internal roads of the plant will be over in two weeks.

Cables will be drawn from an 11-kV line to the plant this week. Internal wiring work is in the last stage, Mr. Sunilkumar says.

Mobile material handling equipment, six front-end loaders and one tractor have arrived on the site. Machinery for compost-processing and waste-screening has also started arriving.

Timely completion and efficient and optimum use of the plant are of utmost importance to the civic body. Once the plant is commissioned, no excuses can be made as far as scientific waste processing is concerned.

As the treatment plant is nearing completion, the Corporation authorities are working overtime to put in place a system for ensuring smooth segregation and transport of waste.

The Corporation will buy sophisticated, covered vehicles for transporting garbage from the city to the plant. Equipment for collection and transportation of waste, such as wheelbarrows, will be purchased. The tenders for the purchases have been floated, says Mini Antony, Corporation Secretary. Equipment estimated at Rs. 11 crore will be bought with the financial support of the Asian Development Bank, she adds.

The civic body, these days, is actively trying to promote the culture of segregation of waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable parts at the household level.

For promoting segregation of waste at household level, the Corporation has distributed 56,000 pairs of buckets to the residents. Orders have been placed for another 1.9 lakh pairs. The buckets will likely be distributed in April, Ms. Antony says.

The civic body has deputed trained personnel to all wards for assisting the councillors for spreading the message of segregated collection of waste and carrying out the ground work.

The residents’ associations have a major role in ensuring that that waste is segregated at the household level so that not much effort will have to be made at the plant level to get that done, she adds.

Apartment owners can make local arrangements for collecting the waste from the individual units. The segregated waste thus collected will be collected by the Corporation at their gates, she adds.

http://www.hindu.com/pp/2008/03/08/stories/2008030850280100.htm

The demarcation of land for the proposed Cochin Metro Rail project started in Alwaye

2008-03-06T05:54:00.000-08:00

Aluva railway station — the starting point of the 25.3-km long line metro.

Kerala - Kochi

Land demarcation for metro begins

Staff Reporter

Work starts from near the Aluva railway station

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Survey to be carried out in eight villages

41 acres to be acquired from private landowners

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KOCHI: The demarcation of land for the proposed Kochi Metro Rail project started in Aluva on Monday.

Demarcation along the project route by laying boundary stones started from near the Aluva railway station — the starting point of the 25.3-km long line.

The demarcation and survey will be carried out in all eight villages through which the elevated rail passes. Revenue officials said it was hard to fix a completion date. Asked when the acquisition process was expected to be over, officials said it was impossible to predict considering the hurdles that had cropped up in the acquisition process in other projects.

Based on the measurements fixed during the demarcation, the officials will draw up sub-divisional records. This was essential to issue notification authorising acquisition process in the remaining seven villages.

Notification

At present, the notification had been issued only in Ernakulam village. In the remaining seven villages — Thripunithura, Elamkulam, Edappally North and South, Thrikkakkara North, Aluva West and Nadama — the notification is yet to be issued.

The notification authorising survey had been issued in all villages except Nadama. Once the demarcation process was complete, a draft declaration would be issued. Fixing basic price for the land to be acquired will follow.

Revenue authorities would then place the price before the landowners by convening district-level purchase committees. Of the total land required for the project, 41 acres would be acquired from private landowners.

Land value

The total cost of land acquisition is pegged at Rs.75 to Rs.100 crore.

The State government had already allotted Rs.1 crore towards meeting the preliminary expenses for land acquisition. Once started, the acquisition process is expected to be over in eight months.

The elevated rail will pass through Kalamassery, Edappally, Palarivattom, MG Road and Kadavanthra.

Meanwhile, there was a proposal to extend link to Nedumbassery.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is in the process of drawing up a detailed project report on the scope of this proposal.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/04/stories/2008030459920300.htm

Foreign remittances need to be productively used to reduce Kerala's per capita debt.

2008-03-05T06:04:00.000-08:00

Kerala needs to productively use Rs.200 billion it receives through annual remittances from people working overseas and increase its share of foreign direct investment (FDI) to reduce its per capita debt, the state’s Economic Review for 2007 has said. The review, released here late Tuesday ahead of the state’s budget to be presented Thursday, said that per capita debt stands at Rs.12,681 in 2005, up from Rs.7,414 in 2001, the highest among the four southern Indian states.

In comparison, per capita debt of Andhra Pradesh was Rs.8,427, Karnataka Rs.7,446 and Tamil Nadu Rs.7,782 in 2005, the review said.

Kerala’s debt has been steadily rising, from Rs.114.2 billion in 1996-97 to Rs.269.5 billion in 2001-02 and a staggering Rs.571.38 billion in 2007-08.

Speaking to IANS, K.J. Joseph, economist at the Centre for Development Studies here, said that although this is a cause for concern, it was nothing alarming.

“Look into the human development index of Kerala in comparison to other south Indian states. We in fact lead the rest of the country. This is the same in literacy too. Kerala has achieved remarkable progress in social sectors because of heavy spending. It is quite natural that the debt profile would be like this,” said Joseph.

He said the easy way out of this debt would be to put foreign remittances into productive uses.

“Another area where Kerala should strive is to change the situation that despite the state having three percent of the total population of the country, we have just a miniscule percentage of the foreign direct investment that happens in the country.”

Currently Kerala has attracted a mere 0.3 percent of the $21-billion FDI in the country, the economic review said.

“Just imagine a scenario if Kerala gets a share of the FDI equivalent to the proportion of the national population. If that happens, then Kerala will not have to look back anymore.”

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/keralas-per-capita-debt-rising-economic-review_10024258.html

COCHIN’S INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IDEAS TO TAP THE PPP FUND ROUTE

2008-03-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

COCHIN’S Infrastructure Development:
( public–private partnership),
PPP or P3 to deal with funding problems .

One of the main problems is the lack of funds required to put infrastructure programs into practice
An example of one of the best models of public–private partnership in infrastructure development is Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) it requires the involvement of both the public and private sectors, as well as community organisations, in order to achieve successful results
Another is Sub-National Development Technical Assistance Program (PPIAF-SNTA) This help sub-national entities improve their creditworthiness so they can access market-based financing on their own account without sovereign guarantees. This new program is to help mobilize local capital for improvements in infrastructure services and promote the development of local financial markets. Responsibility for meeting the enormous demand for new and better infrastructure services in developing countries increasingly has shifted from national to sub-national entities. these entities, typically local governments or utilities, often lack the policy and institutional frameworks and especially the financial resources to fulfill this responsibility. Filling this financial gap is not easy. Traditional sources of sub-national financing require sovereign guarantees, which are often inadequate because of fiscal constraints at the national level or policies to promote local financial accountability.
The PPIAF-SNTA program will provide technical assistance grants to support local governments and other sub-national entities:
• Access financing for infrastructure improvements from banks or bond markets without relying on sovereign guarantees

• Obtain a credit rating or improve their rating from a recognized credit rating agency

• Take measures to enhance their creditworthiness to potential lenders with a view to achieving one of the above
Local governments with responsibilities for delivering infrastructure services along with utilities, authorities, special districts, and state-owned enterprises, will be eligible to receive the grants. Development finance institutions with a primary focus on infrastructure lending will also be eligible.
In India , 35 urban local bodies already have local currency credit ratings and 10 have accessed capital markets to help expand and finance infrastructure services. Amedabad Municipal Corporation was the first to get a credit rating and access the local finance market through a US $25 million equivalent municipal bond issue without a sovereign guarantee in 1998. Around 100 local political subdivisions, who are responsible for the development of roads and electricity also have credit ratings. They have financed capital investments both from commercial banks and bond markets, and are beginning to source foreign currency loans on attractive terms. A CIAL model of development, with NRI-backing is IDEAL for COCHIN CITY with NRI homeward remittances to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore.

COCHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIMITED

Cochin International Airport was set up with equity participation of a large number of NRIs from Kerala as well as of the state government, among others. The venture was incorporated as a company, with the Cochin International Airport Society formally spearheading its birth. Its structure gave the company some reprieve against political intervention despite the government nominees (mostly ministers) on the board and the chief minister’s presence as chairman.

The project was partially funded through borrowing, while both public and private sector companies that subsequently became service providers at the airport also supplied capital in the form of interest-free deposits. When the Airport Authority of India expressed its inability to fund a new airport at Cochin, VJ Kurian, its founding managing director, suggested funding it first through public deposits and later through public equity participation.

The airport management showed tremendous determination, leadership, management capabilities and financial discipline. In the early days of implementing the project, in fact, the airport was mired in controversy and massive agitations by landowners and evictees. If it wasn’t for the determined stand taken by the management the project could not have been completed in such a limited time and at minimum cost. The airport has been running at a profits and paying dividends from its early years.

The experience of Cochin International Airport reveals a formula for successfully implementing projects on PPP within short time periods, at significantly lower cost and with ample profit. Success is assured when the project is well conceived, its implementation is properly planned, is funded through imaginative but cost-effective means, is led by someone with vision, and it is operated with dedication to basic commercial objectives. By following the Cochin International Airport model in every segment, we can pull infrastructure development out of its current dismal state.
IDEAS TO TAP THE PPP FUND ROUTE
THE INCORPORATION OF A COMPANY CALLED THE COCHIN OVERSEAS FUND SOCIETY be registered under the Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act and the society could seek interest-free loans from Non Resident Indians, donations and loans from major industrial undertakings, small scale units, exporters, banks, financial institutions and the state government.
An advertisement should be issued in the local newspapers to inform and educate the public about the society and its goals
Those who are interested in such a venture should be asked to contact the society
Funds for the society can be raised without a public issue
1. Creating such a company will give the company some reprieve against political intervention despite the government nominees (mostly ministers) on the board and the chief minister’s presence as chairman
2. Partial funding through borrowing from public and private sector companies who can recover through incentive and supply capital in the form of interest-free deposits.
3. Funding it first through public deposits and later through public equity participation.
4. Investment could come in the form of interest free loans and donations from NRIs as well as corporate and other societies
5. Loans can be backed by
Kisan Vikas Patrikas (KVP: a savings scheme of Government of India which doubled the principal in 66 months)
For every Rs.5000, KVP of Rs.2500 would take care of repayment, yielding Rs.2500 directly as cash. Government of India (GOI) had a scheme of lending back 75% of the collected amount to the state government for developmental purposes as low interest, long-term loan. The remainder would be mobilized through donations

After that the creation of

1. “Cochin
Infrastructure Development Fund" should be established from which moneys shall be used to make low-interest or interest-free loans, loan guarantees, or grants to local political subdivisions and to state agencies. The fund may receive funds from the central government for infrastructure development purposes, but other public or private funds may be received by the board for deposit in the fund. The state assembly may appropriate state moneys to the fund. The infrastructure development fund shall be administered by the society. Any moneys remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general revenue

2.
COCHIN Infrastructure Development Finance
should be created and that finance should sell shares to NRI’s and institutional investors across Asia, Europe and the United States to fund the construction of new roads, ports and other public works projects in and around COCHIN City. The lender to public utilities, should be half owned by overseas investors. Companies in the energy , transportation sector and telecommunications can receive funding and financing for executing their infrastructure project in and around Cochin City. The fund should be set up with financial institutions like the Federal Bank, Vysa Bank, Citigroup and Blackstone Group Holdings. It should be listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Cochin Stock Exchange.

THE FINAL PRODUCT SHOULD BE

PPP COMPANIES
1. CPSL or Cochin Plumbing and Sanitation limited. The city has been having a problem with the sewage drains and the sanitation of the public places within the city. The city of Singapore is one of the cleanest cities in the world. The government is able to keep the city state clean because it has an independent body taking care of these matters. The mosquito menace is rampant throughout Cochin city. This can be and should be taken care of by a company on the lines of CIAL. In Florida there are planes that spray the mosquito infested areas with pesticide that don't harm the flora and fauna.Before the Panama canal was built the swamps there were cleansed of mosquito's. The same was done before Disney World was built here in Florida. An independent company called Cochin Plumbing and Sanitation should be floated to take care of these needs.
2. The second area of infrastructure that needs to be addressed is the unplanned growth in and around the city. This is a problems that all Indian metros are facing with the exception of Chandigarh in Punjab and Haryana a well planned city designed by Le Corbusier
a French architect. Bangalore was a well planned city that fell victim to rapid unplanned growth. There are resorts being torn down in Munnar as a result of unplanned growth. The MG Road area is being widened. There is an imminent danger of future unplanned growth in the city. Step and measures should be taken to remedy that. The CPGSL or the Cochin Planned Growth Society Limited should be created to remedy that. This should be a group of experts in this field who are working toward remedying present and future growth problems that the city is facing. The Central government has a Planning Commission. This should be privately funded with public participation on the lines of CIAL.
3. As a result of rapid growth in the city of Cochin there arises the need for better roads, flyovers, bridges, railway tracks or transport infrastructure in and around the city of Cochin. A separate company called CTIL or the Cochin Transport Infrastructure Limited should be created to address, implement,and finance these needs.
4. The city is also facing and a electricity shortage in many areas. Alternative form of energy should be researched and used like Solar Power,Thermal Power etc. Here in Florida there is an independent company FPL or Florida Power and Light . A company called CPLL or Cochin Power and Light Limited should be created to take care of these needs.
5. As a result of the infotech revolution that Cochin is going through the demand and the urgent need for more fiber optic cable and telecommunication has increased. The increased use of water, natural gas ,petroleum, and such petroleum products as gasoline,kerosene, and diesel fuel. They also transport finely ground particles of coal, iron ore, and limestone that are used for various purposes. In addition, pipelines carry industrial waste and sewage. The gas service lines or pipeline distribute gas to millions of home users. A separate public limited company called CPTL or Cochin Pipeline and Telecom Limited should be floated to address this critical infrastructure need.
IF THESE PROCEDURE ARE FOLLOWED COCHIN CITY WILL ATTRACT massive vestments in Roads,Bridges and Railway tracks, in Power and Telecommunications.

Anybody interested in taking the initiative to start a society are more than welcome to contact me by email

Metro Rail — the fears and aspirations

2008-03-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

Activity related to the Metro Rail project in Kochi has gathered momentum. K.A. MARTIN writes about the hopes, mixed with some fears, that the project has given rise to.

Yet another major project has come under severe scrutiny by the public at large in Kerala. This time, it is a transport project that holds out prospects of significantly easing congestion on roads in Kochi and providing a long-term solution to develop the city’s suburbs.

Some have aired fears that the Metro Rail project, during its construction phase, will affect trading and the service sector. Another opinion is that freezing of substantial extents of land along the proposed Metro Rail route and subsequent uncertainties will affect business and even infrastructure development.

The district administration, on the other hand, has gone ahead with earmarking specific areas along the proposed route for development. For example, 50 cents of land (approximately 0.2 hectares) has been identified at the north end of Mahatma Gandhi Road and 25 acres at Muttam, near Aluva. The first major step for the project will be acquisition of land. It will require 25.33 hectares, of which 9.37 hectares belong to the government.

The Metro Rail can bring about remarkable developments for Kochi. The most significant are expected at the terminals at Aluva and Petta, near Thripunithura. Besides becoming major commercial hubs with opportunities for sales and services, the terminals will see significant auxiliary units coming up. Repair and servicing of the system will generate a large number of jobs, turning Muttam into a major centre of economic activity.

A big thing

It is a big thing coming for Kochi, says George E. George of Kerala Builders’ Forum. The stations along the 25.25-km stretch will become the focus of attention for commercial activities. According to him, construction of Metro Rail has to be carried out in a time-bound manner to not disrupt city life for long. The stations, 23 of them elevated, have been planned to serve major passenger destinations and enable convenient integration with other modes of transport. These stations are potential growth centres with opportunities for new sales and service outlets. Spaces in the stations have been divided into unpaid and paid areas. There will be provisions for escalators.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which prepared the detailed project report for Kochi, had pointed out certain difficulties. The report had said that implementing the project would affect property at Ernakulam Town station, near Madhava Pharmacy Junction and at Jose Junction. Planners in Kochi, the City Corporation, trade bodies, merchants and the public at large have welcomed the State government’s interest in realising the project. They feel that the Metro Rail will help a growing Kochi meet its transport needs in an efficient, cost-effective way.

However, there is fear that the proposed project, during its execution phase, will adversely affect commercial activities along its route. A memorandum by the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry to the Chief Minister expresses a fear that commercial activities along some of the arterial but narrow roads will be damaged by prolonged construction.

The memorandum first of all congratulates the Chief Minister and the State government for taking the first steps towards implementing the Metro Rail system. However, it says, the present alignment via North Rail Overbridge, Banerjee Road and Mahatma Gandhi Road will affect commercial activities along these roads. These roads, says the memorandum, are narrow and congested, and with a protracted construction phase, commercial activities here will suffer major setbacks. It has particularly pointed to Mahatma Gandhi Road, one of the busiest business corridors in the city and the State.

The memorandum suggests an alternative alignment for the project, taking the Shanmugham Road route to serve the city’s transport needs better. This view has been backed by some planners, who feel that it will be helpful to sections of commuters who have to go to the islands to the west of Ernakulam, besides helping those commuting to the Kerala High Court area and back. But this route needs an extra 2.5 km of railway track, which, based on current cost projections, may not be attractive to the promoters, says a senior government functionary.

Another opinion is that if the metro rail is extended up to Angamali, instead of being terminated in Aluva, the extra 2.5 km may not figure prominently as a cost factor.

Backers of the Shanmugham Road route have suggest that it will help a larger number of commuters to the city and back. For example, the suggested route will serve commuters to and from the High Court, a major destination. It will also help those coming to Kochi from neighbouring islands using the Goshree bridges on the western boundary of the city. Commuters heading for the General Hospital, the Revenue Tower (yet to be inaugurated) and the sub-courts will also benefit. It is said that the route will involve fewer complications during land acquisition because large tracts of public land are available. Land being a scarce commodity in and around Kochi, the district administration will find it difficult to make sufficient areas available for the project.

The proposed Metro Rail will start at Aluva and run parallel to the existing broad-gauge track for 1.2 km and become fully elevated before reaching National Highway 47 and running along its median till Edappally. Then, it will turn to Banerjee Road to Madhava Pharmacy junction, Mahatma Gandhi Road and South Railway Station. It will go along Sahodaran Ayyappan Road up to Vyttila and then go to Petta, crossing the highway.

The land connection

Metro rail projects have had a positive impact on the country’s real estate scene in terms of pushing up the value of land adjoining the transport corridors, particularly in places that did not have easy access to the city hubs, believe observers.

The general international trend too has been for land value to appreciate adjacent to transport corridors. Such projects also open up far-flung places to development, since the time required for commuting to the main city areas comes down. Places that are considered too distant to commute from, become attractive because of improved accessibility.

The impact may not be felt as much in the core city areas through which the rail line passes as these may already have witnessed saturation in terms of construction activity and development. The availability of parking spaces is one factor that may influence the commercial value of land in the areas where the stations are located.

http://www.hindu.com/pp/2008/03/01/stories/2008030150370100.htm

Virgin Atlantic Airways' flamboyant boss Richard Branson is mulling to connect the "God's Own Country" with London

2008-03-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

Business
Virgin Atlantic mulls connecting London with Kerala
Mumbai (PTI): Bewitched by the scenic beauty of Kerala, where he was holidaying for the last three days, Virgin Atlantic Airways' flamboyant boss Richard Branson is mulling to connect the "God's Own Country" with London.

"It could be, but there is no immediate plan," Branson said when asked whether Virgin Atlantic airways would like to connect London with a city in Kerala, the state to which he referred number of times during an interaction with the media.

Virgin Atlantic Airways has flights operating from Delhi and Mumbai to London. It had earlier said that the company has plans to connect other cities like Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Amritsar with London.

However, Branson kept the cards to his chest when asked whether Virgin Atlantic Airways would like to connect other Indian cities with London, saying, "Definitely, we would like to connect other Indian cities with London. But, at this point of time, I am not sure which are they. It is a proposal, though".

Virgin Atlantic Airways, formed in 1984, is now the second largest British international airline and operates a fleet of Boeing 747 and Airbus A340 aircraft.

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http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200803022068.htm

Cochin flying high in Indias vibrant south

2008-03-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

01-Jun-2006
Airport Code [COK] View More KOCHI News
Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) Indias first privately developed greenfield airport, reported a 9% increase in net profit in the 2005/06 financial year.
The airport benefited from Indias traffic revival, registering 18.2% passenger growth in the 12-month period, including a 27.9% increase in domestic passengers.

While Cochins domestic traffic growth trailed other airports in Indias highly competitive Southern region, including Hyderabad (+43%), Bangalore (+39.5%) and Chennai (+29%), it is fast becoming a model for efficiency and the benefits of private investment in the Indian Subcontinent region. For example, The Sri Lankan Government has reportedly invited CIAL to develop the country's planned second international airport, although no decision has been taken by CIALs Board on the offer.

Since its first full-year of operations in 1999-2000, aircraft movements at Cochin have increased almost fourfold. The airport has been well supported by the Kerala State Government since the projects inception, and last week announced plans to invest USD760 million to develop 488 acres of land owned by CIAL by 2012 for commercial purposes. The project includes the development of aircraft maintenance and training facilities, a convention centre, hotels, golf course, cargo facilities, shopping malls, food courts, speciality hospital, an educational institution and an amusement park. Funds for the project would be pooled from private and public sources.

The Kerala State Government is also teaming up with CIAL to jointly establish an LCC, Air Kerala, to operate domestic and international routes, subject to Central Government approval. CIAL and the State Government would own 26% of the proposed carrier, with the remainder to be held by private investors. The public-private partnership (PPP) model is alive and well in Indias south with greenfield airports under construction in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The PPP pattern could be repeated extensively across the Indian Subcontinent in years to come.

http://indiaaviation.aero/news/airline/1927/59/Cochin-flying-high-in-Indias-vibrant-south

COCHIN BRIDGE INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANY LIMITED (CBICL)

2008-03-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

NEW MATTANCHERRY BRIDGE PROJECT, COCHIN

The picturesque river bridge connects Fort Kochi (a heritage town and a famous tourist site) to Willingdon Island in the Cochin Port Trust area. The 700 meters long bridge provides a two-lane link across the Mattancherry channel.

This was the first BOT project in the state of Kerala, India. The client for the project is Government of Kerala (GoK) through its nodal agency - The Greater Cochin Development Authority.

GIPL holds 97.66% stake in this project, with the rest being held by the Cochin Port Trust.

CBICL started commercial operations in October 2002 (ten months ahead of schedule) and has already completed four years of stable commercial operations.

CBICL has a revenue stream that comprises of Toll and Annuity. The concession/ licence period for this project is 19 years and 9 months that ends in April 2020
Gammon Infrastructure Projects Limited ("GIPL") is an infrastructure project development company promoted by Gammon India Limited, to participate in the development of infrastructure projects on a public private partnership ("PPP") basis.

GIPL is among the first companies in India to be modeled as an infrastructure developer holding company with investments spread across various sectors.

Today, GIPL leads Gammon's forays into development of infrastructure projects on PPP basis across sectors such as Roads & Expressways, Ports, Hydro Power, Urban infrastructure, Airports, Special Economic Zones, Water and Wastewater management, Railways, Power Transmission lines, and Agricultural Infrastructure.

GIPL is present in the following areas of Infrastructure development:

Project Development

Project Advisory

Sector Specific Operations & Maintenance

Gammon India reduces its stake in Cochin Bridge Infrastructure from 97.66 per cent to 51 per cent
Gammon India Ltd has informed BSE it has sold a part of its Equity stake aggregating to 29,86,010 Equity shares of Rs 10 each in Cochin Bridge Infrastructure Company Ltd (CBICL), its subsidiary company, thereby reducing its current stake in CBICL from 97.66 per cent to 51 per cent.
http://www.gammoninfra.com/cbicl.html

A case study in PPP innovation The Cochin International Airport project serves as a model for infrastructure development

2008-03-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

P RAMESHAN
Public-private partnership (PPP) has become a buzzword in infrastructure development efforts in India. Looking at the vast possibilities in PPP, this model of funding is planned for ‘softer areas’ of infrastructure like healthcare, education and other local services. There are even efforts to develop slums in urban areas through the PPP route. Currently, infrastructure investment works out to about 4.6% of GDP. At this rate, in the next five years, there will be a gap of $130 in the investment targets for the sector. It is feared that unless infrastructure investment levels increase to 8% of GDP, the 9% GDP growth expectations cannot materialise.
In infrastructure projects, typically, funding requirements are huge and gestation periods are long. A review of projects funded by the World Bank and other major international lending agencies reveals successful use of PPP in different parts of the world. The partnership has taken different forms: management contracts, leasing, design-build-finance-operate, build-operate-transfer concession, divestiture and build-own-operate. Sometimes, a PPP may be structured as a joint venture, with control and management resting with the private sector. Ultimately, however, there are only two sources of revenue: consumers, through user charges, and taxpayers, through subsidies. Private financiers also need to be repaid with adequate returns.
In its scheme for support to PPPs in infrastructure announced in July 2005, the government recognises that infrastructure projects may not always be financially viable because of long gestation periods and limited financial returns, and that the financial viability of such projects can be improved through government support. Therefore, the government proposed a scheme for viability gap funding in infrastructure projects undertaken through PPPs. Such funding is available to projects developed, financed, constructed, maintained and operated by a private investor to be selected by the government or a statutory entity through a process of open competitive bidding.

A wide array of infrastructure areas was covered under the scheme. The projects have been expected to provide a service against payment of a predetermined user charge. To receive viability gap funding, which is restricted to 20% of the project cost with scope for another 20% grant, a project must prove that the viability gap cannot be eliminated by raising user fees, increasing the project term, or reducing capital costs, and that the project is based on normal standards and specifications.

The popularity of PPP is on the rise. Many southeast and East Asian countries have extensively used this route to develop infrastructure. Different sectors, including telecommunications, roads and drinking water, have benefited from this. Projects substantially funded through user charges have found wide acceptance even in China. While India always recognised the potential of PPP, such investments have been proportionately less. One of the best cases of a PPP involving an innovative approach is that of the Cochin International Airport that became operational in 1999.

Cochin International Airport was set up with equity participation of a large number of NRIs from Kerala as well as of the state government, among others. The venture was incorporated as a company, with the Cochin International Airport Society formally spearheading its birth. Its structure gave the company some reprieve against political intervention despite the government nominees (mostly ministers) on the board and the chief minister’s presence as chairman.

The project was partially funded through borrowing, while both public and private sector companies that subsequently became service providers at the airport also supplied capital in the form of interest-free deposits. When the Airport Authority of India expressed its inability to fund a new airport at Cochin, VJ Kurian, its founding managing director, suggested funding it first through public deposits and later through public equity participation.

The airport management showed tremendous determination, leadership, management capabilities and financial discipline. In the early days of implementing the project, in fact, the airport was mired in controversy and massive agitations by landowners and evictees. If it wasn’t for the determined stand taken by the management the project could not have been completed in such a limited time and at minimum cost. The airport has been running at a profits and paying dividends from its early years.

The experience of Cochin International Airport reveals a formula for successfully implementing projects on PPP within short time periods, at significantly lower cost and with ample profit. Success is assured when the project is well conceived, its implementation is properly planned, is funded through imaginative but cost-effective means, is led by someone with vision, and it is operated with dedication to basic commercial objectives. By following the Cochin International Airport model in every segment, we can pull infrastructure development out of its current dismal state.

—The writer is professor & chair (strategic management), Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
http://www.financialexpress.com/old/fe_full_story.php?content_id=159112

Kerala to tap the PPP fund route for urban infrastructure A CIAL model of development, with NRI-backing A state urban finance corporation mooted

2008-03-01T20:06:00.001-08:00

Banking on the PPP model

• A CIAL model of infrastructure development, with NRI-backing, is what the Left Democratic Front is looking for. The resource-starved state gets annual NRI homeward remittances of Rs 30,000 crore

Although five densely-populated Kerala cities – Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kollam – are in dire need of improved urban infrastructure, the ruling CPI(M) was buried in a heated internal debate on whether the state should go ahead with its bid for a Rs 1,607-crore Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan for sustainable urban development.

However, in a complete turnaround, the government of Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan, whose winning electoral plank was his anti-ADB loan position, on December 8, 2006 signed an MoU with ADB in New Delhi. “The state party unit discussed the ADB issue thoroughly and decided to go ahead with it,” explains CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.

Be that as it may, the Centre's Rs 50,000-crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is the fund that the state government finds most acceptable to tap. “In the past, centrally-sponsored schemes have lapsed due to the state government’s negligence. We are keen that every rupee from centrally-sponsored programmes should be utilised," says K N Harilal, state planning board member.

Two cities--Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram--are on the JNNURM radar.

While several Indian cities have gone ahead with modernisation through the JNNURM route, the two Kerala cities are yet to make their final pitch to the Centre. The state capital is still in the process of finalising its city development plan.

Meanwhile, Kerala also enthusiastically put into operation the public-private partnership (PPP) model to improve urban infrastructure. The state Sports the country's first PPP greenfield airport in its NRI-funded Nedumbassery airport. The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is a public limited company in which the Kerala government has the single largest stake. CIAL is managed by a board of directors comprising political leaders, NRIs, industrialists and representatives of financial institutions.

A CIAL model of development, with NRI-backing, is ideally what the Left Democratic Front is looking for. The resource-starved state government gets annual NRI homeward remittances to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore, nearly one-fourth of the state's net domestic product. A state urban finance corporation is in the making to tap the PPP-fund route.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Banking-on-the-PPP-model/189077/

Experts from 20 countries will meet in COCHIN(KOCHI)to lend support for Kerala's new initiative responsible tourism.

2008-03-01T16:20:00.000-08:00

Published: Sunday, 2 March, 2008, 02:04 AM Doha Time

By Ashraf Padanna
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Experts from 20 countries will meet in Kochi later this month to lend support to Keralaâ€™s new initiative â€” responsible tourism.
They will discuss topics such as local economic development and poverty reduction, responsibility for destination sustainability and travel philanthropy and the role of government.
The second edition of the International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations will see delegates from several countries including Britain, Germany, Gambia, South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
â€œKerala has successfully implemented responsible tourism practices and is home to several working models, contributing to enriching the environment and the local community. The meeting is going to be a tribute to these initiatives,â€‌ state Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said.
Around 400 delegates are expected to attend the four-day meeting beginning on March 21 at the Le Meridien International Convention Centre to learn about the latest developments and practices in Responsible Tourism.
The first conference in Cape Town, held along with the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, was attended by 280 delegates including representatives of tour operators, national parks, conservation authorities, tourism professionals, non-governmental organisations and hotel groups.
â€œThis second international conference is designed to create awareness amongst operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists to take responsibility and action to make tourism more sustainable,â€‌ Balakrishnan said.
â€œThese stakeholders - Africa, North and South America, Europe and Asia - will sit together to discuss the need to spread the idea the world over.â€‌
The initiative is to minimise negative economic, environmental and social impacts and to generate greater economic benefits for local community, besides improving working conditions and access to the industry.
â€œLocal people are involved in decisions that affect their lives and they make positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage and thereby maintain worldâ€™s diversity,â€‌ Balakrishnan said.
Since 2002, there have been many initiatives at national and local level that have pushed forward the responsible tourism agenda. The concerns of those in the tourism industry to the relatively new idea of responsible travel and responsible tourism will be answered by experts who have already implemented many of these new concepts.
â€œItâ€™ll help us keep pace with international trends towards best practices and gain market advantage,â€‌ said Kerala Tourism Director Venu V. â€œDelegates will get a chance to visit sites like home-stays, heritage precincts, farms and local entrepreneurs which are models of responsible tourism practices.â€‌
Kumbalangi, Fort Kochi, Kumarakom and Mattancherry are some of the places that will be showcased. Operators in the Kerala tourism sector will also share their experiences in making the state a Responsible Tourism destination.
The conference will be co-chaired by Venu and Harold Goodwin, director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) at Leeds Metropolitan University.
â€œResponsible Tourism in its purest sense is an industry which attempts to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate income, employment and the conservation of local ecosystems.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=204766&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22