THOOTHUKUDI: The conversion of four berths of the VO Chidambaranar port into a container berth at an estimated cost of Rs 2455.40 crore is expected to be completed by December, 2025, said port chairman TK Ramachandran.
Addressing a press conference during the commemoration of seventh year of the Sagarmala programme, Ramachandran said of the 18 projects envisaged under the programme, 11 have been completed so far in Thoothukudi. He explained that the North cargo berth-III, which has a quay length of 306 metre, and conveyor facilities from berth to stack yard was completed in July 2018 at a cost of Rs 38.34 crore. While the construction of a coastal cargo berth was finished at a cost of Rs 36.11 crore in December 2017, an existing coal jetty -- CJ1 was also upgraded at a cost of RS 49.63 crore, he said.
Dredging the dock basin for coastal cargo berth at a cost of Rs 86.79 crore has facilitated the handling of vessels up to 9 metre draught, Ramachandran said, adding a land area of 7.5 hectare has been created by reclaiming the dredged materials of coastal berth.
The chairman also said the ongoing project to convert berths 1-4 into container berths will have a 840-metre quay length container terminal on build-operate-transfer basis to handle vessels up to 15.5 metre, and to handle higher LoA vessels. The project will increase the capacity of the port by 1.6 MTEUs (Million Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit), he added.
Meanwhile, the port authority has proposed to launch recreational boating, water adventure games, beach clubs, and marine wildlife tourism at the old harbour. Also, there are plans to operate cruise liners between Kanniyakumari and Rameswaram via Thoothukudi, as a part of tourism development activities under the Sagarmala programme, Ramachandran said.