Jacob Thomas, Director of Beypore Port asked cargo vessel owners, potential stakeholders and shipping agents to exploit opportunities in coastal shipping by availing incentives offered by Kerala government.
The state government announced a new coastal shipping cargo incentive programme under its coastal shipping project. The programme would benefit those who operated vessels along the Kerala coast and conduct loading or unloading in any of the ports under the government of Kerala.
Thomas explained the programme to cargo vessel owners, potential stakeholders and shipping agents from Kozhikode district during a meeting.
Thomas, who chaired the meeting, said the stakeholders in the sector should make use of the available shipping facilities in Kerala ports to the maximum, instead of campaigning for more demands which could be considered only in the due course of time.
At first, the operators in the sector will have to show their capacity in the area by increasing the current cargo movement along Kerala coast and the rest of the facilities will be offered by the government after seeing the performance, he added.
The state government’s programme intends to reduce the on-road transport of goods to a large extent and thus address the increasing threats of pollution.
As per the government plan, around 40 percent of the current cargo movement should be shifted to the waterways by 2020, Thomas pointed out.
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