Coal news and updates

Cochin Port Trust has called for request for qualification (RFQ) for modernisation of coal handling facility at the port on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis for a licence period of 30 years. The project cost has been put at Rs. 198 crore.

 

Cochin Port, which handled nearly 50,000 tonnes of coal during the April-May period this year, has been handling the commodity at the North and South Coal Berths at the Mattancherry wharf.

 

Modernisation of the coal handling facility, possibly on a PPP model, was on the anvil and the work was earlier expected to be awarded in the first quarter of this calendar year.

 

Development of the coal handling facility has been part of the redevelopment plan for Willingdon Island and the potential for coal has been highlighted considering the location of Kochi lying nearest to the route to coal from Africa, said details on Cochin Port Trust website.

 

The port authority’s assessment is that the facility can be developed at minimal cost to handle 14.5 metre-draft fully loaded Panamax vessels as the existing berths Q8 and Q9 can handle up to 12.5 metre-draft vessels without any modification.

 

The proposed new facility will have a 300-metre berth for mechanised coal handling. The project will have a stack yard of 17 hectares and the rail siding is an added advantage for the project. The project capacity is 4.23 million tonnes per year.

 

Construction of a multi-user liquid terminal on Puthuvype is another major work at the Port for which bids have been invited by the Port Trust recently. The scope of the works includes capital dredging for the berth, construction of the approach road to the terminal and shore protection works. The estimated project cost is Rs.205 crore.

 

 

Source: The Hindu