Chennai: Union minister of ports, shipping & waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday inaugurated major infrastructure projects, costing ₹148 crore, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu to augment the capacity of Chennai and Kamarajar ports in the state.
A bunker berth at Bharathi dock, goods shed yard at Jolarpet and 40 KLD (Kilo Litres per day) sewage treatment plant were inaugurated at Chennai port. The total cost of these projects is more than ₹55 crore. The 182 m bunker berth project, funded under the visionary Sagarmala scheme of the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways (MoPSW), is worth ₹50.25 crore. This will enable a capacity addition of 1 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum) and will also handle bunker tankers up to 10,000 DWT. This will serve the bunkering needs of vessels calling at the regional ports in Chennai, Kamarajar and Katupalli and other vessels passing from nearby.
Sonowal on the occasion said, “The rich history of Tamil Nadu’s marine trade has been a bedrock of growth and development of Indian economy. These projects are expected to play a pivotal role in engineering the positive turnaround in the marine sector of the region. The projects will not only empower Tamil Nadu’s marine sector but also enable growth multipliers in the regional trade along with the EXIM trade,”
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Commenting on the furthering marine cooperation between Russia and India, the minister said, “India is in talks with Russia to open up Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor to further the special relationship between the two countries while unlocking the huge trade potential in blue economy. India affirms its commitment to rejuvenate its trade & investment potential to propel the growth of India. This corridor will serve this purpose acting as a conduit of growth and investment cooperation between two historic cities with rich marine history-Chennai and Vladivostok-of the two countries.”
The 15,000 sq meters large goods shed facility, with loading & stacking facilities at Jolarpet, will enable movement of cargo from up to Chennai port through railway, increasing movement of cargo especially containers. The port will also get a revenue share (from Southern Railway) from the terminal access charges.
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As part of the green port initiative of MoPSW, the sewage treatment plant of 40 KLD capacity will enable reuse of waste water after treatment for various purposes. The Amrit Mahotsav Marg between Kamarajar Port’s 4.8 km access road from Vallur junction to NCTPS junction was built with an investment of ₹88 crores. This will boost hassle free movement of cargo with better road connectivity to the port. Widening and concreting of port access road from Vallur junction to NCTPS junction was completed under Sagarmala and one of the “National Infrastructure Pipeline” projects of MoPSW.
IIT-Madras’s Discovery Campus & NCWPC to be opened o/n Monday
Sonowal will inaugurate National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts (NTCWPC), IIT, Madras – Discovery Campus on April 24 at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Under the Sagarmala Programme, NTCWPC has been established in IIT Chennai at a cost of ₹77 Crore. The institute acts as a technological arm of the ministry and develops cutting-edge technologies and application products to provide solutions to various challenges faced by ports & shipping sector.
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The institute has world class capabilities for undertaking the 2D & 3D investigations of research and consultancy nature for the port, coastal, waterway sector across all disciplines. Modelling of ocean, determining the coastal & estuarine flows, sediment transport and morpho dynamics, planning of navigation and manoeuvring, estimation of dredging & siltation, consultancy in port and coastal engineering – designing the structures and breakwaters, autonomous platforms & vehicles, experimental & CFD modelling of flow & hull interaction, hydrodynamics of multiple hulls, ocean renewable energy coupled with port facilities are some of the areas where expertise has already been developed for the benefit of the country.
