It was not for nothing that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a special mention, at the inauguration of Vallarpadam ICTT, of the RO-RO service between Vallarpadam and Bolghatty islands.
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Logistics: A much needed transformation
Among other firsts, Vallarpadam ICTT will also trigger a stream of business activities in its immediate neighbourhood. NA Muhammed Kutty, explains why India’s first transhipment terminal will transform the face of the logistics industry.
The Gamechanger
After a 20-year wait, the brand new ICTT at Vallarpadam is all set to be Kerala maritime’s best brand ambassador yet, further transforming the maritime and logistics landscape of the region. Shashidhar Nanjundaiah writes from Vallarpadam.
India's longest rail bridge inaugurated in Kerala
The longest rail bridge with a length of 4.62 km connecting Idapalli to Vallarpadam in Kochi is complete.
The aim is to both have and avoid transhipment
As container handling operations begin at the Vallarpadam terminal around noon on 18 February, G Krishnakumar, Deputy Chairman, Cochin Port Trust, pauses his interview with Shashidhar Nanjundaiah, and looks out the expansive windows of his office—overlooking the CPT-owned terminal—for the understated but historic moment.
Expertspeak: Integration and differentiation needed
Did the MA 2020 miss the proverbial bull’s eye, or is there an explanation beyond bureaucratic and ministerial walls to the fact that there is still no serious mention of connectivity and integration of interests, and of treating shipping and ports differently?
Expertspeak: Yet privatisation has been successful
With ICTT, by bringing mainline vessel calls to Cochin, shippers—especially in south India who earlier had to tranship their cargo over to Colombo and other regional hubs—will now save on the additional feedering cost at the hub port.
Revamp of Kochi port stalled
Cochin Port Trust’s propoÂsed projects have been facing clearance issues from the Navy with respect to the height of the proposed installations in the flying funnel area in Willingdon Island.

