TUTICORINE: Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH Shri Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled projects worth Rs.231.21 Crore in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. The Minister laid the foundation stone of the Tuticorin SPEEDZ (Coastal Employment Unit) land for the development of harbor based industries, covering 1300 acres, worth Rs. 100 Crore, laid the foundation stone for the development works of the inner harbor (widening of the harbor entrance and dredging of the widened part) at a total cost of Rs. 65.53 Crore, inaugurated the upgrade of road and Coal Yard drainage system at a cost of Rs.16 Crore, fixed firefighting system at Oil Jetty at a cost of Rs. 18.79 Crore and reinforced power grid of 22 KV HT for a total cost of Rs. 1.15 crore.
Shri Sonowal inaugurated the Smart Port Projects, the first marine traffic system developed in India at a cost of Rs.2.29 Crore. Developing an indigenous system would eliminate the need to rely on proprietary and expensive offshore-made software solutions. It also ushered in fiber optic connectivity at a cost of Rs.1.15 Crore.
In line with the Prime Minister’s call for Net Zero initiatives, the Minister also inaugurated a series of green port projects such as 100% conversion to LED lamps, induction of electric cars, solar power station of 140 KW on the solar roof and the foundations laid. stone for a 2 MW wind farm, a 400 KW solar rooftop power plant, public electric vehicle charging stations at a total cost of Rs.26.93 Crore.
Shri Sonowal has also inaugurated Ease of Doing Business projects, a drive-thru container scanner and a 140 MT electronic in-motion weighbridge, at a total cost of Rs. 46.51 crores.
On the welfare front, the Minister inaugurated the Medical Oxygen Generator Factory and laid the foundation stone for the Integrative Medicine and AYUSH Unit and the VOC Maritime Heritage Museum at a total cost of Rs.1.78 Crore.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Sonowal said the government is making every effort to reduce logistics costs which will help India achieve its well-defined goal of being a $5 trillion economy by 2025. He said the inclusive green port initiatives taken by the VOC The port will set standards in all major ports to increase the share of renewable energy to more than 60% by 2030.
Shri Sonowal asserted that the government will do all it can to transform the VOC port into the transshipment hub of India’s east coast by developing the Outer Harbor project, as announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi .
The Minister reviewed the performance of the Port and its future expansion programs. Shri TK Ramachandran, President, informed of the port’s various current and future capacity increase initiatives and other proposals to improve port productivity. Shri Sonowal inspected the port facilities and gave an update on the infrastructure and upcoming projects. He interacted with various actors of the port and maritime fraternity.
