CHENNAI: The expansion and modernisation of Kanniyakumari Port and various other initiatives are expected to be proposed by the State government under the Sagarmala scheme when Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari visits the city on Thursday.It is learnt that the State is planning to make Kanniyakumari a tourist hub and expand and modernise the Kanniyakumari Port at a cost of `340 crore with modern berths, cruise vessels and tourist transit station facilities.
Currently, the State is operating a boat cruise by Poompuhar Shipping Corporation to Vivekananda Rock, a memorial built in 1970 in honour of Swami Vivekananda, and Iyyan Thiruvallur statue near Vivekananda Rock. A total of 30 lakh tourists visit these places every year. Since the Kanniyakumari Port has been dredged a depth of only two metres, plans are underway to dredge the entrance of this port and basin to six metres. Sources said this would increase the cruise tourism by sea to other destinations such as Tiruvananthapuram, Rameswaram, Puducherry and Chennai.
There is also a proposal to build a marine bridge linking the Vivekananda Memorial Rock with the Thiruvallur statue. Both the memorials are located in the islands at a distance of 150 metres and do not have connectivity. Sources said the proposal was to construct a modern marine elevated steel cable bridge at a cost of `125 crore for safe transport of tourists.
Similarly, the State is also planning to construct an additional passenger ferry jetty of 68 metres at a cost of `20 crore. A detailed project report has been sent to the Union Shipping Ministry. It is learnt that the Shipping Ministry has sought a report from the IIT-Madras, which is expected on November 30.