Shri SarbanandaSonowal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH unveils projects worth Rs.231.21 Crores. 

Shri SarbanandaSonowal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH visited V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority on 30th September 2022. 

Shri SarbanandaSonowal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, laid the foundation stone for the Tuticorin SPEEDZ (Coastal Employment Unit)  land for development of Port-based Industries, spanning 1300 acres, worth Rs. 100 Crores, and laid the foundation stone for inner Harbour development works (Widening the Port Entrance and dredging the widened portion) at a total cost of Rs. 65.53  Crores, inaugurated the Upgraded Coal Yard Road and Drainage System at a cost of Rs.16 Crores, Fixed Fire Fighting System at Oil Jetty at a cost of Rs. 18.79 Crores, Strengthened 22 KV HT Electrical Network at a total Cost of Rs. 1.15 Crores. 

He inaugurated the Smart Port projects, India’s first indigenously developed Vessel Traffic System at the cost of Rs.2.29 Crores. The development of indigenous system would eliminate the need of  relying on proprietary and costly foreign made software solutions. He also inaugurated the Optic Fibreconnectivity  at a cost of Rs.1.15 Crores. In line with the call given by the Hon’ble Prime Minister towards Net Zero initiatives, the Hon’ble Minister also inaugurated an array of Green Port projects like 100% Conversion into LED Lights, Induction of e-Cars, 140 KW Solar Roof Top Solar Power Plant and laid foundation stone for 2 MW Wind Farm, 400 KW Solar Roof Top Solar Power Plant, Public EV Charging Stations at a total cost of Rs.26.93 Crores. The Hon’ble Minister also inaugurated Ease of Doing Business Projects, Drive through Container Scanner and 140 MT Electronic in-motion Weigh Bridge, at a total Cost of Rs. 46.51 Crores. On the Welfare front, the Hon’ble Minister inaugurated the Medical oxygen Generator plant, and laid the foundation stone for Integrative Medicine & AYUSH Unit and VOC Maritime Heritage Museum at a total cost of Rs.1.78 Crores , Shri SarbanandaSonowal, Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, in his address stated that the Government of India is taking all efforts to  reduce the logistics costs which would facilitate India to achieve its well-defined goal of being a $5 Trillion economy by 2025. He also stated that “the inclusive Green Port initiatives taken by the VOC Port will set standards across all Major Ports to increase the share of renewable energy to more than 60% by 2030.

Shri SarbanandaSonowal, Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways &Ayush, also affirmed that the Government would take all efforts to transform VOC Port as the Transhipment hub of East coast of India by developing the Outer Harbour Project, as announced by our Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi Ji.   Shri T.K. Ramachandra, IAS, Chairman, VOC Port Authority welcomed the gathering. Dr. K. Senthil Raj, District Collector, various stakeholders of the Port, Officers and employees of the Port and Public participated in the event. The Hon’ble Minister reviewed the performance of the Port and its future expansion programmes. Shri T.K. Ramachandran, IAS, Chairman, apprised the various ongoing and future capacity augmentation initiatives of the Portand other proposals for enhancing the productivity of the Port. The Hon’ble Minister inspected the Port facilities and took stock of the infrastructure and upcoming projects. The Hon’ble Minister interacted with various stakeholders of the Port and Shipping fraternity. During his visit, Shri Sonowal has overseen the developmental works at the Port and expressed happiness over the Port.