Sagarmala: Tamil Nadu to get Rs 2.5L crore projects

He was addressing reporters after inaugurating three completed projects worth Rs 337.81 crore, at the V O Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi on Monday. 

Stating that the new projects would generate more employment opportunities in the state, Gadkari also said that the V O Chidambaranar Port would be developed at Rs 3,000 crore. The draft would be deepened to 16.5 metres, which would be useful  for the economic viability of the port, to attract bigger ships that were currently going to Colombo, he said. 

Among the three newly inaugurated projects, the installation of rail mounted gantry cranes at container terminal no. 8 was fully funded by Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal private limited, which included three rail mounted quay cranes, nine rubber tyre gantry cranes in the berth. 

The berth, which is 345 metres long, has been equipped to handle 6 lakh Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEUs) per annum. 

Another key project is the truck parking terminal that has been completed at a cost of Rs 23.69 crore with funding from both the port and the union government, which will be able to accommodate 205 vehicles. 

The parking terminal, located around eight kilometres from the Port, will have direct entry facility with customs seal verification round the clock, besides offices for customs and container terminals. Administrative building and dormitory with basic amenities to accommodate 100 persons are also part of the terminal. 

The minister also opened a port information centre, which will give a bird’s eye view of the installations in the port estate to visitors. There is also an 80-seater  auditorium in the middle of the facility. 

Union minister, Pon Radhakrishnan, state minister for Information and Publicity, Kadambur Raju were also present on the occasion.