Economy of Kochi

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Kochi (pronunciation (help·info); Malayalam: കൊച്ചി [Kocci]); formerly known as Cochin) is a city in southern India, and the commercial hub of the state of Kerala.^[1] In recent years the city has witnessed heavy investment, ^[2] posting a GDP growth rate of 8.3%;^[3] thus making it one of the fastest-growing second-tier metro cities in India^[4]

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Major industries 2.1 Information technology 2.2 Ship building 2.3 Retail 2.4 Spices and seafood 2.5 Chemical industry 2.6 Oil refining 2.7 Others 3 See also 4 Notes

[edit] Synopsis

Kochi is the biggest city in Kerala by volume of trade.^[1] The economy of the city can be classified as a business economy with emphasis on the service sector.^[5] Major business areas are gold and textile retail, seafood and spices export, information technology, tourism, health services, banking, ship building, fishing and allied activities. The High Court of Kerala is situated in the city. Consequentially, legal services are a major contributor to the economy. To tap the potential of the natural harbour at Kochi further, a marina^[6] and an international container transshipment terminal^[7] are currently under construction. The city also houses Kerala's only stock exchange, the Cochin Stock Exchange. The economy of the city is mostly dependent on trade and retail activities.^[8] As in most of Kerala, inward remittances from abroad by Non Resident Indians (NRI) is a major source of income. Exports and allied activities are also important contributors to the city's economy. Tourism has of late, become a major contributor to the city's income. The Headquarters of the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy is situated at Venduruthy about 5 kilometers south of the city centre. The state government has given priority to the establishment of IT and BPO enterprises to exploit the opportunities that have arisen in the field.

[edit] Major industries

The Vismaya building at InfoPark, Kochi

Ginger being dried by workers at a Ginger factory at Kochi

Fishermen fishing in traditional boats in the backwaters. Kochi is a major exporter of seafood.

[edit] Information technology

Kochi is a major destination for IT and ITES companies, ranked by NASSCOM as the second-most attractive city in India for IT-based services.^[9] The availability of 15 Gbit/s bandwidth, through undersea cables such as FLAG, SAFE and SEA ME WE 3 ensures seamless data flow, and lower operational costs compared to other major cities in India, has been to its advantage. The InfoPark promoted by the Government of Kerala is home to companies like Wipro and TCS. The establishment of a larger hi-tech business campus, the Smart City, is under final stages of discussion.^[10]

[edit] Ship building

The Cochin Shipyard in Kochi is largest^[11] ship building facility in India.^[12] Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in the year 1972 as a fully owned Government of India company. In the last three decades the company has emerged as a forerunner in the Indian shipbuilding & Shiprepair industry. This yard can build and repair the largest vessels in India . It can build ships up to 1,10,000 DWT and repair ships up to 1,25,0000 DWT. The yard has delivered two of India’s largest double hull Aframax tankers each of 95 000 DWT . CSL has secured shipbuilding orders from internationally renowned companies from Europe & Middle East and is nominated to build the country’s first indigenously built Air Defence Ship. The Cochin Shipyard also builds ships for the Indian Navy.

Shipyard commenced ship repair operations in the year 1982 and has undertaken repairs of all types of ships including upgradation of ships of oil exploration industry as well as periodical lay up repairs and life extension of ships of Navy, UTL, Coast Guard, Fisheries and Port Trust besides merchant ships of SCI & ONGC. The yard has, over the years, developed adequate capabilities to handle complex and sophisticated repair jobs. Recently Cochin Shipyard has bagged major repair orders from ONGC. The order for major repairs of three rigs viz Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Sagar Vijay, Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Sagar Bhushan and Jack Up Rig (JUR) Sagar Kiran was secured by CSL against very stiff international competition.

[edit] Retail

The economy of the city is highly dependent on retail services.^[8] The major retail ventures in Kochi are in gold and textile.

[edit] Spices and seafood

Since ancient times, Kochi has been one of the spice capitals of the world. Kochi is home to the International Pepper Exchange, where black pepper is globally traded. The Spices Board of India is also headquartered at Kochi. The Cochin fishing harbour, located at Thoppumpady is a major fishing port in the state and supplies fish to the local and export markets. Central Government establishments like the Coconut Development Board, the Coir Board, the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and the Spices Board are also located in the city.

[edit] Chemical industry

Eloor, situated 17 km north of the city, is an island of 11.21 km² and is the largest industrial belt in Kerala. There are more than 247 industries viz. Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT), Travancore Cochin Chemicals, Indian Rare Earths, Hindustan Insecticides Limited and many others manufacturing a range of products like chemical-petrochemical products , pesticides, rare earth elements, rubber processing chemicals, fertilizers, zinc/chrome compounds and leather products.

[edit] Oil refining

Kochi also has an oil refinery — the Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL), in Ambalamedu. Formerly known as Cochin Refineries Ltd., was formally registered on 6 September 1963 at Ernakulam. Philips Petroleum International Corporation was the prime contractors for the construction of the refinery. They entrusted the work to Pacific Procon Limited. Construction work started in March 1964 and the first unit came on stream just after 29 months in September 1966. In accordance with the decision of Govt. of India to sell its stake in Kochi Refineries Ltd., a stand alone refinery with a capacity of 7.5 MMTPA, BPCL has acquired 54.81% shares held by Govt. of India (GOI) in Kochi Refineries Ltd. on 26.03.2001 for a total consideration of Rs. 6591 million

[edit] Others

Central Government establishments like the Coconut Development Board, the Coir Board and the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) have head offices located in the city.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes