‘Desperate’ Cochin Port flouted own tender terms and gave sops to thrust ICTT on DP World

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One of the more curious port developments in recent times has been India’s International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam, adjacent to Cochin in Kerala state. The facility was conceived as India’s answer to the Sri Lankan hub of Colombo, which currently handles around 2m teu of Indian cargo, transhipped by deepsea carriers, but ICTT has met with little success. In this article, local publication LiveMint explores some of the irregularities in a bizarre concession-award process that saw “a state-owned port flouting its own tender terms to suit its convenience”.