Water transport to be developed

In its efforts to improve water transport in Kochi, the Corporation is planning to constitute a public limited company. It is also learnt that the Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation Ltd (KITCO), entrusted with the preparation of the detailed project report (DPR), has started the preliminary work in this regard.

As per the Corporation’s annual budget for 2011-12, the company will be on the lines of the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL). “The detailed project report will be in accordance with the study report submitted by the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) last year. The CDIA report has suggested some key components to improve the water transport system in the city. KITCO will incorporate these key factors in the CDIA report along with its DPR,” Kochi Corporation Town planning Committee chairman K J Sohan said.

He said that the consultancy will also do a study on the possibilities of setting up a public limited company for the effective management of water transport system in the city. “As per the budget proposal, the plan is to form a company in a public-private-participation mode. The state government and the Kochi Corporation will be the major stakeholders of the company. This will help the civic body to manage the system more effectively,” he said.

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Inland water transport

Up to 240 million tonnes of bulk goods are transported per year via the German Federal waterways, which amounts to between 60 and 65 billion tonne-kilometres. This equals almost 90 per cent of the goods transport by railway in this country or about 14 million lorry journeys. Moreover, some 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers are carried via inland waterways, which corresponds to another 700,000 lorry journeys.

This way, inland shipping makes a most significant contribution to satisfying the industry's demand for transport services, which are delivered on schedule and in a cost-effective and environmentally compatible manner. German inland shipping and inland ports keep around 400,000 people in work. Inland passenger vessels, including river cruise ships, are also growing in economic significance. Many millions of tourists travel in them each year, enjoying the delightful waterside landscapes.

Source : http://www.bmvbs.de/en/Transport/Waterborne-transport-,1898.964413/Waterways-as-transport-routes.htm