EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN PORT OF COCHIN AND CREATION OF WILINGDON ISLAND
Willingdon Island is the largest
artificial island in India, which
forms part of the
city of Kochi, in the
state of Kerala. Much of the present
Willingdon Island was claimed from the
Lake of Kochi, filling in dredged soil around a previously existing, but tiny, natural island.
Willingdon Island is significant as the home for the
Port of Kochi, as well as the
Kochi Naval Base (the
Southern Naval Command) of the
Indian Navy,
Custom House Cochin
and
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, a constituent unit of Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
The island is also home for other establishments associated with the port, namely, the
Office of the Cochin Port Trust (that controls the
Port of Kochi), the
Customs Office, and more than two dozen export-import offices, warehouses, a few hotels and business centers.
History
Conception
The idea of developing a new port in Kochi was first felt by Sir
Robert Bristow,
who was appointed by Lord Willingdon, then-the Governor
of
Madras Presidency, to create a new modern port on the West coast of India at Kochi.
Construction
The island was created during the construction of modern port in 1936, with the soil dredged out while deepening the
Vembanad Lake to accommodate the new port. It was named after
The 1st Earl of Willingdon, the
Viceroy of India at the time, who commissioned the project.
Robert Bristow, the chief protagonist and engineer for the project, owned the first building on the island.
The first liner, which belonged to the Bibby Line, arrived at the island on 9 March 1935. A port hostel, called
Malabar Hotel, was built for passengers who wished to rest on the island.
All the pre-planned basic port structure was completed in 1939, just in time for the
Second World War.
A deep wharf, a rail bridge and a road bridge to the mainland provided valuable infrastructure for the local war effort.
A naval works was also constructed on the adjacent
Venduruthy Island to the south, where, by the end of the war, they were busily constructing
landing craft for the presumed invasion of
Japan.
In 1940 a passenger jetty and customs house were built adjoining the
hotel, together with a passenger platform and rail siding.
British military
The
Royal Air Force quickly found use for this flat expanse of conveniently located virgin territory, and constructed a large
aerodrome. The artificial island thus became a thriving military base
1947
Control of the transport hub was transferred from the British Empire to India in 1947, when the latter gained independence.
[During its short colonial tenure the island had handled at most one million tons of freight, by 1960 this had almost doubled.
The island aerodrome was extensively developed and became the city’s modern airport. Nowadays Kochi has an
international Airport at Nedumbassery,
25 km north-east of the city, while the airstrip on the island turned into the naval air station
INS Garuda. Willingdon Island is connected to the mainland by
Venduruthy Bridge, which has road and railway links.
The headquarters of the
Southern Naval Command of the
Indian Navy is located on the island.
Cochin shipyard is also located near this island. It is also a major tourist centre.
Apart from these, it is here that the airport used to be
positioned (until it was moved to present location in Nedumbassery near
Kochi) along with the shipbuilding yard, wharf, the Southern Naval
Command Headquarters and the customs house. Cochin Chamber of Commerce
and Industries has been strategically placed here, as is the Government
of India Tourist Information Office in the vicinity of the airport. This
island is a hub of activity with a number of offices, branches of
national and international banks, travel agencies and souvenir shop
warehouses.
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