THOOTHUKUDI: The development of the Galathea transhipment hub at Great Nicobar will not affect the enhancement of VOC Port Trust into a transhipment hub port, said TK Ramachandran, secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, while launching the new logo of VO Chidambaranar Port Authority during a function at the port estate on Wednesday.
Describing the logo, Ramachandran said, "V indicates the alphabet and imagery of a ship, while another V indicates a flying bird. The circle at the bottom indicates the globe, the blue colour of the circle represents the sea, while the pearl dotted on the logo denotes the ancient pearl trade. The logo with the tagline 'global connect', was conceptualised by one Rajendran R Ranjane during a recent logo creation contest. He will gifted a cash prize of Rs 50,000."
He added that the outer harbour project, which is dubbed as the container transhipment hub, will be implemented for sure since the country needs one on the east coast. The Galathea transhipment hub at Great Nicobar at the southernmost tip of the country, has secured the necessary clearances.
When asked about the container transhipment port at Galathea being prioritised, even as the container transhipment hub at VOC port remains an announcement, Ramachandran said both the projects are being implemented simultaneously, and the development of a port at Galathea will not affect the proposed VOC port container transhipment hub. "Further, the union shipping ministry will implement offshore windmill projects in Thoothukudi and Gujarat. In the first phase of the project, 500 MW facilities will be installed. The project is in the bidding stage," he said.
VOC Port chairperson (in-charge) Bimal Kumar Jha, Board Member V Satyanarayanan, Deputy Conservator Captain Praveen Kumar Singh, Senior Deputy Secretary Vidya, and Traffic Manager R Prabakar were present on the occasion.