KOCHI, 29 September 2007 — India’s first-ever cruise terminal is all set to take shape in Kochi catapulting the Kerala port city on the world’s cruise map.
Kochi port authorities say the project would encourage investment, bring prosperity and strengthen the state’s competitive advantage as a premier tourist destination in a big way.
“Some 34 cruise liners have called at the port this year and the number of tourists visiting the port, including those who do not want to disembark, is expected to touch 62,000 by 2010 when the terminal is completed,” Cochin Port Trust Deputy Chairman Capt. Subash Kumar said.
The terminal is planned as the world’s most promising, year-round business and leisure destination that offers the perfect blend of luxury and leisure, shopping and culture in a traditionally rich and hospitable environment.
“The project includes a Kerala village which would be a miniature of Kerala, showcasing its rich cultural heritage that make the state tick as a favorite tourist destination.” Cochin Port Trust has entrusted the consortium of the city-based Mir Projects and Consultants and the Virginia-based TranSystems to prepare a feasibility study. The international bidding process for the $90 million project is to begin by January and work will start by mid May.
“The idea is not only to attract foreigners but domestic tourists as well. We are also building something like a marina where yachts can berth and cruise boats can take the visitors around,” Kumar said.
The full potential of commercial space available in the backlands will be transformed into a totally entertaining destination that includes a shopping mall and a world-class hotel. The Kerala village will also showcase Kerala’s cuisines, ethnic produce and historic lifestyle in the 18th century.
“The idea comes from the fact that most of the passengers onboard are people aged above 60. They cannot afford to disembark and go about traveling around after a long voyage. So we thought we should bring a slice of life of Kerala to the port for them to experience,” he explained.
Although the average world growth rate for the cruise market is around 8.8 percent annually, world itinerary passenger calls in India will grow at 15.1 percent per year. The port expects to receive 300,000 tourists by 2025.
Kumar said he expects the ships with clean cargo also to anchor at the port during the lean season. The terminal is also expecting to receive passenger ferries from the Gulf.
“We would be able to receive any kind of ships, including the biggest luxury liners. Ships as big as 340 meters long can berth here and we expect all major cruise liners to include Kochi as their port of call,” he said.
Kalam to Speak at IIST
Former president and an accomplished space scientist Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will be in town on Thursday for a lecture at the newly-started Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) here. Kalam will address students at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), the temporary campus of IIST where Kalam worked as a space scientist for two decades. IIST is among a handful of national-level institutions Kalam has picked to launch his teaching career after stepping down as India’s first citizen. Kalam had started his career with the ISRO at the VSSC and worked there from 1962 to 1982. He started off as part of the team assigned to develop the SLV-3 rocket meant to put India’s first satellite into orbit.
Air-India Engineering Services Base
Air-India will soon begin construction of its aircraft maintenance unit on a 6.07-hectare plot near the international airport here at a cost of Rs700 million, officials of the national carrier said. The foundation for the project was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year along with a modern airport terminal. Work on the terminal is in full swing. The plan is to develop the aircraft maintenance base for Maintenance Require Overhaul (MRO) of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Air-India expects more aircraft of the series to operate from the premier airport of the state in the coming years, they said.
Crafts Village in North Kerala
A craft village is coming up at Iringal near Vadakara in Kozhikode district offering opportunity to tourists to experience the art of manufacturing handicrafts and buy from craftsmen directly. The village is expected to generate more opportunities for skilled craftsmen and the products will also be marketed in all tourist centers of the state. The craft village, work on which is progressing fast, includes a fort and building as a replica of the original fort of legendary warrior Kunhali Marakkar who fought the Portuguese. The Marakkar Museum near the Kottakkal River will consist of models of fort and warship used by Marakkar and the buildings outside the fort would accommodate hundreds of craftsmen to work there. Auditorium and seminar halls, martial arts center with Kalari training and Ayurveda treatment center and an ‘ankathattu’ for the traditional martial art performance will also be part of the village.
Arrival of Foreign Tourists Up
The number of foreign tourists arriving in Kerala has gone up this year despite bad roads and threat of epidemic outbreak. Some 268,943 foreign tourists arrived here from January to June 2007 showing an increase of over 20 percent over the same period last year, according to the official statistics. The arrival of domestic tourists showed an increase of 7.03 percent during the same period, as compared to 2006 with more than 3.3 million visitors arriving in the state. Kerala’s tourist season is beginning this week and Tourism Secretary Dr. V. Venu is hopeful that the overall increase in tourist arrivals would maintain the 21 percent growth seen in 2006 for foreign tourists and five percent in the case of domestic tourists. The state’s tourism department is currently holding a series of road shows in cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Frankfurt, Zurich, Sydney, Singapore and Rome.
Protective Ring for Silent Valley
The Silent Valley National Park in Palakkad, which is home to more than 1,300 rare flora and fauna including those facing threat of extinction, has got a protective jungle ring. Silent Valley is one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world and the park, one of the rarest tropical rainforests among the Western Ghats, was declared a national park after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi stalled a move to build a dam there in 1984. The reserve zone would have the forests of the Mannarkkadu and Nilambur South divisions. Silent Valley is also known as a rare confluence of 12 varieties of forests and home to more than 1,000 flowering plants belonging to 154 families, a dozen varieties of fish, 19 amphibians, 35 kinds of reptiles, 128 varieties of butterflies and 35 types of mammals.
