New Delhi, Tuesday 20 April 2010: The Vallarpadam trans-shipment container terminal near Kochi will be completed by August this year, Shipping Minister G K Vasan said.

The Rs 2,118 crore International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, being developed by Dubai Port International, was previously estimated to be commissioned in the first half of 2010. Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Vasan said ICTT “will be completed by end of August.”

The construction of the terminal would allow berthing of mother vessels (large ships carrying containers) at Vallarpadam. Shippers currently use transshipment hubs such as Colomobo and Dubai.

The National Ship Design Research Centre, set up to promote and design research activities for shipping and ship building, has been merged with Indian Maritime University at Chennai, he said adding IMU has campuses at Kolkata, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam.