Union Shipping Minister G.K. Vasan today said that the completion of the Outer Harbour Project at VOC Port Trust in Tuticorin will help it move closer to becoming a hub port.
He said the Rs 7,500-crore project would be taken up in phases and “would be completed by 2021’’.
The Minister was speaking at the inauguration of Shipping Corporation’s Maritime Training Institute at Tuticorin.
“This is a historic project which would be taken up in phases and would be completed in 2021. During Phase-I, five berths are proposed to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 5,421 crore resulting in a capacity addition of 43.30 MTPA (million tonnes per annum),” he said.
With the completion of this project, announced in the Union Budget by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram this February, “VOC Port Trust will move closer to fulfilling its goal of becoming a hub port in this part of the country”, he added.
Various works such as construction of cargo berths at a combined investment of over Rs 1,700 crore had been awarded by the VOC Port Trust last year, Vasan said, urging the authorities and concessionaires to complete them on time to help the port achieve the declared capacity target of 85 mt by 2015-16.
A copy of Vasan’s address was released here.