Highways connectivity to ICCT Vallarpadam now likely in 2014

NEW DELHI: Highways connectivity to International Container Transshipment Terminal(ICCT) Vallarpadam in Kochi, which is expected to give a major boost to the country's trade, has been delayed further and will now take more than a year to be completed.

Despite its strategic importance, the project that was scheduled for completion in early 2010, is now expected to be commissioned late next year.

"The originally Rs 329.47 crore project despite time overrun of 58 months is now likely to complete by December 2014," a Road Transport and Highways Ministry official told PTI.

The 17 km highways connectivity project at Vallarpadam has so far seen an expenditure of Rs 932 crore, the official said.

"As much as 15 km of the 17 km project, being funded by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has been completed and 2 km of it is yet to be constructed," the official said adding that delays were on account of various clearances.

The road link on completion will connect Vallarpadam with two national highways.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had dedicated the first phase of the strategically important Rs 6,250-crore terminal at Vallarpadam Island to the nation.

The terminal is designed to help exporters access mainline container vessels calling at the port as at present more than 50 per cent of the Indian container traffic is being transshipped at ports outside India, mainly at Colombo and also at Singapore, Salalah and Jebel Ali.

Describing the project as a 'long awaited milestone' in the development of the country's logistics infrastructure, the Prime Minister had said that about 60 per cent of India's export and import containers were trans-shipped through outside ports like Singapore and Colombo.

This, he said, had lead to an additional expenditure of USD 300 per container as it took an extra 7-10 days of transit time.

The highways connectivity project to ICCT at the Special Economic Zone at Vallarpadam Island would also help Indian exporters access mainline container vessels calling at one of the most well located ports of India.