Realignment work on road to port facilities in progress.

The realignment work on road that links the south end of Willingdon Island to the Kochi port facilities is in progress. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is in the process of completing the work on the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF). The realigned road, by the side of the land leased to the CSL, takes off from a point slightly east of the present road by the backwaters.

The shipyard and Cochin Port Trust had entered into an agreement in December 2012 in which the Port authority leased 16.9 hectares of land area and 15 hectares of waterfront area for a period of 30 years for the development and operation of the ISRF. Shipyard sources said the ISRF was part of the efforts by the CSL to focus on ship repair as an important area for future thrust and business.

The ship repair facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as ship lift and transfer system capable of handling vessels with 130 M (LOA) and 25 M beam; transfer area, six work stations, afloat repair berths, workshops, substations and cranes at an estimated investment of ₹970 crore.

The lease deed between the Port Trust and the CSL for the land and water area was executed in April 2013 and since then the dry dock and other facilities in the leased area have been made operational. Repair activities of eleven vessels were completed during the 2015-16 period.

The Union government’s approval for the project was received in May 2016. The Cochin Shipyard, which has had a total turnover of nearly ₹2,000 crore during 2015-16, recorded a profit before tax of ₹424 crore.

THE HINDU