THE VIZHINJAM PROJECT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Ports hold the key to World trade and form the Gateways of Nations . 90% of World trade is sea borne and only countries with ability to trade commodities at the most competitive rates will flourish . China being the prime example . Chinas ambition to rule the World market has been spear headed by their ports and associated free trade zones – Shanghai , Shenzhen ,Ningbo , Pudong ,etc .They have also Hongkong under their control . They aim to corner 10% of World trade by 2010. With this aim they have built World largest Transhipment Hub port in Bahamas .They are building Deep water ports in Pakistan (Gwader) and Bangladesh (Chittagong) .

The Honorable Prime Minister has recently announced a quantum jump in the declared targets to be achieved by India by 2010 . ie, 5% of World trade (equivalent to ~ US $500 Billion ) .To achieve this we need to increase five fold our current share in world trade. ( previously declared targets 1.5% equivalent to US $150 Billion )

Now Container ports and Ships have become the prime armamentarium in the trade wars of this Millennium .The speed , safety and efficiency offered by the containers have made them the de-facto carriers of world cargo.
The emerging trends in development of container ships indicate a consistent growth towards big ships – the recent advances in technology has made 10000 TEU ships with single engine a reality . They will rule the Great trade highways of ocean in short future . “A recent ESCAP study has revealed that by 2011 a total of 490 very large container vessels will be in service globally, out of which approximately 130 will be of 10,000 TEU and above”. Plans are afoot to build 13000 TEU ships .
While first six among the top ten container ports in the World are from the Asian region, India does not have a port even in Top 30! The eight Chinese ports among the top 30 container ports together handled about 70 million TEUs — that is, about 35 per cent of the 196 million TEUs handled by all the top 30 container ports. According to the Korea Maritime Institute, the Chinese container traffic will increase to 130 million TEUs by 2011 and, in all probability, Shanghai will emerge the world's largest container port by that year.
“India's container traffic which was 3.90 million TEUs in 2003-2004, is likely to rise to 4.5 million TEUs in 2004-2005 . India will have a growth rate of 16 per cent and India's box traffic would reach 10 million TEUs by 2010 with the western region accounting for 70 per cent of the traffic”

Today 80% of Indian containers are Transshipped at Colombo, Singapore and Dubai. 60-70% of containers handled at Colombo are Indian origin/destination. The estimated annual loss to India is around US $ 200 million ( Rs.1000 crores).

Can India meet the declared target of $500 Billion trade by 2010 without a Hub port – ie, without having any Mother ship calling in an Indian Port ? Can India match the challenges posed by the rising Chinese supremacy in the World market . Is the Government turning blind eye to a genuine problem ?

This brief write up will show that Vizhinjam Port is a true gift of nature and if the Government does not take active steps to help make it a reality the future generations will suffer from the loss of a golden opportunity in the destiny of this country . The role of Transshipment Hub Ports and free trade zones in revitalizing economy cannot be overemphasized .

The Government of India should recognize the national importance of this project and allocate a Special Economic Zone at Thiruvananthapuram to harness the export and industrial opportunities accorded by the port . A special economic assistance package of at least Rs.1000 crore should be made available by the GOI for the infrastructure development around the port ,so that the project can shape up as speedily as possible . The connectivity to the National Rail network and Golden quadrilateral should be taken up in earnest .
The Government should also take necessary steps to ease the burden of the local people when such mega projects shape up in densely populated regions . The underprivileged people forms the bulk of coastal population and their interests should be protected with utmost concern .So the Vizhinjam Harbour should also be completed as soon as possible.