A view of Cochin Port, Willingdon Island, in Kochi.
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The Cochin Port Joint Trade Unions Forum has demanded that the Cochin Port Authority and the Ministry of Ports should make public the details and rationale behind the reported two-year extension granted to the operator of the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam.The forum in a press release questioned the extension, reportedly based on the recommendations of a conciliation committee headed by former Ports Secretary Gopalkrishna, arguing that the settlement of a long-standing dispute should not result in perpetual concessions to the terminal operator.The ICTT, operated by India Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd, a DP World company, was commissioned in February 2011 with the objective of developing Kochi into a major international transshipment hub. The terminal has an ultimate projected capacity of 2.5 million TEUs annually, while Phase I has a capacity of 1.2 million TEUs.The trade unions demanded the public disclosure of the terminal’s year-wise cargo throughput and capacity utilisation against the contractual business plan. They also sought details of the revenue earned by the port under the revenue-sharing arrangement, concessions extended to the operator, and the status of pending claims, counterclaims and litigation.According to the forum, the operator handled 0.32 million TEUs at the Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal before shifting operations to Vallarpadam in 2011. In 2025-26, after 15 years of operations at Vallarpadam, the terminal handled 0.77 million TEUs.The unions also raised concerns over the contractual arrangements and the continuing dredging obligations, which they said impose a financial burden on the Cochin Port Authority.The forum said greater transparency was necessary before extending concessions or contractual benefits to the operator and sought disclosure of the basis on which the reported two-year extension was granted.Published on August 31, 2026
