Dock basin at VOC port to be deepened to 16.5 metres

In his message, Ramachandran said steps would also be taken to deepen the approach channel to 17.20 metres, widen the port’s entrance channel and strengthen its berths.

Elsewhere, T J Kotteeswaran, distinguished scientist and Executive Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) unfurled the tri-colour on the premises of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in the presence of Sanjay Kumar, Site Director, KKNPP at Erukkanthurai.

In a statement, Kotteeswaran termed KKNPP unit-1 as a ‘pride of our nation’ as Kudankulam is the place from where the country’s first four-digit electricity (1,000 MW) was flown to the grid. Since the unit was first synchronised with the grid in October 2013, it has so far generated 21,143 million units (as on January 25, 2019) of electricity.

Its twin, KKNPP-2 has raised the contribution of nuclear power in the country to 6,780 MW. The unit-2 of KKNPP was first synchronised with the grid on August 29, 2016 and with a steadfast performance, KKNPP-2 attained its maximum capacity of 1,000 MW on January 21, 2017. The unit has so far generated 8,965 million units (as on January 25, 2019) of nuclear power, Kotteeswaran said.

In an initiative aimed at increasing carbon-free electricity generation in the country, the Central government has given a go-ahead to set up two more 1,000 MW reactors at KKNPP site. The construction works on the hydro technical structure, reactor building, turbine building and other auxiliary buildings for unit 3 and 4 are going ahead in a full-fledged manner, he said.

Earlier in the day, Kotteeswaran inaugurated a new building at Thiru Kuttralam Memorial Middle School, a government-aided school in Erukkanthurai, built under the neighbourhood welfare initiatives of KKNPP. Built at a cost of Rs 55.5 lakh, the school has three classrooms and an office room.