Willingdon Island

Willingdon Islands is the largest artificial man-made island in India, which forms part of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. 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 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.

The Island was created during construction of modern Kochi Port in 1936 with the soil dredged out while deepening the Vembanad Lake to accommodate the new Kochi 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. Today the entire land belongs to Cochin Port Trust and Indian Navy.

Location: Cochin

Highlights: Willingdons Island links Kochi with other seaports of the world and hosts some of the state's best hotels, commercial and industrial offices.

How to Reach: Willingdon Island is connected to Kochi's mainland by road and the railway Venduruthy Bridge.

Willingdon Island contains the modern port, serving South India. The island is an artificial man-made island created from the sand dug out while deepening Kochi port. It has been named after Lord Willingdon, the former Madras governor, who was instrumental in implementing this island project. The main engineer spearheading this project, however, was Robert Bristow. A port hostel was built to accommodate passengers who wished to halt for a short while and it was named the Malabar Hotel.

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