THOOTHUKUDI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually laid the foundation stone for the conversion of berth no. nine as a container terminal, and inaugurated a 2-megawatt (MW) wind power farm and a 5-MW solar power farm for VOC Port, Thoothukudi, during the Global Maritime India Summit in Mumbai. The port authority has dubbed it as India's first green port.
The summit, organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, was held from October 17 to 19. "The PM inaugurated the summit and laid the foundation stone for the container terminal project at a cost of Rs 434.17 crore at VOC Port. The proposed terminal with quay length of 370 metres and a capacity of six lakh TEUs will be capable of handling 8,000 TEU vessels. Modi also inaugurated a solar power plant and a wind power farm at cost of Rs 26.7 crore and Rs 18.38 crore respectively. With these initiatives, we are proud to announce VOC Port as the first 'Green Port of India'," the VOC Port Authority said in a statement.
VOC representatives added that many participating firms have evinced interest in various investment opportunities at the Port. "MoUs were exchanged with around 12 firms worth around Rs 2 lakh crore for establishing Green Hydrogen Hub, Off-shore Wind Energy Hub, Commencement of Ferry Service and construction of Green tugs at the Port," read a statement. During the special session on Tamil Nadu on October 18, Minister for Public Works E V Velu, Additional Chief Secretary Pradeep Yadav, Executive Vice President SCM, Yokohama Tyres G Padmakumar, Chief Operating Officer of ACME Group Sandeep Kashyap, and other industrialists highlighted the investment potential in the state, using VOC Port as the home Port, added the statement.