Vallarpadam project: Dubai firm develops cold feet

Claiming to be seriously put off by the recurring strikes and disruptions dogging the project...

Claiming to be seriously put off by the recurring strikes and disruptions dogging the project, the Dubai Ports World indicated on Friday that it might rethink the ambitious $500-million International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam here, the first in the country to operate in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Ironically, the company communicated this to the Cochin Port Trust on a day when Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan was detailing his Government’s resolve to bring in many big projects to the state, after unveiling the foundation plaque for the joint venture Smart City, Kerala’s dream IT hub being set up by Dubai’s TECOM, a few kilometers away.

Perhaps by another coincidence, the Dubai company faxed its missive a day after the Joint Intelligence Committee in New Delhi had circulated a confidential note to Committee of Secretaries in New Delhi saying the presence of Dubai Ports World in Indian ports would compromise national security, as this newspaper reported.

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The Vallarpadam project had been repeatedly hit by labour stirs over a dozen times in just the last 20 months, after the Dubai company came into the picture. The latest stir, against mechanisation of labour-intensive operations, had resulted in a near-complete paralysation of activities and many ships coming in being diverted elsewhere till Thursday.

The Dubai Port World had bagged the contract to manage and subsequently transfer its operations at the existing Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT) to the new terminal, and had been granted a 38-year concession for the exclusive operation and management of the site—sharing one-third of the revenue with the Cochin Port Trust.

Senior sources at the Cochin Port Trust , however, maintained that DPW had only meant to express its “serious concern” over the frequent strikes. They claimed to have clarified things with the Dubai agency, which they said was only “assessing the situation”, and added that it has asked for an immediate pre-emptive solution to avert more such disruptions overturning timelines.

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