Infrastructure
Big Players Eye Thoothukudi Port: Adani Ports, JSW, PSA Compete For Rs 7,200 Crore Mega Transshipment Hub Project
VOPCA is working on a project worth Rs 7,200 crore to make VOC Port a transhipment hub that can compete with Colombo and Singapore. (istock)
Thoothukudi's VO Chidambaranar (VOC) Port in Tamil Nadu is set to undergo a remarkable transformation with the launch of a substantial outer harbour project.
The V O Chidambaranar Port Authority (VOCPA) is spearheading this initiative, investing Rs 7,200 crore to elevate VOC Port into transshipment hub that can compete with Colombo and Singapore.
The project has garnered immense interest from both domestic and big international players in the sector. Notable names include Adani Ports, Singapore's PSA International, Dutch conglomerate Van Oord, JM Baxi, and industrial giant JSW, among others.
The project majorly involves the construction of a breakwater, the creation of a backup yard, berth/jetty construction, mechanisation in the berth and stack yard, railway line laying, navigational aids, capital dredging in the outer harbour basin and approach channel, construction of rubble bund for reclamation of dredged materials, etc.
The project is strategically positioned to leverage the burgeoning investor enthusiasm in the region, driven by landmark investments such as the Rs 16,000 crore electric vehicle manufacturing unit initiated by Vietnamese conglomerate VinFast, as per a Business Standard report.
V O Chidambaranar Port
V O Chidambaranar Port, strategically close to the east-west international sea routes on the southeastern coast, is one of the 12 major ports in India and the second-largest in Tamil Nadu.
The VOCP was declared a major port by the government of India in July 1974.
The port is an artificial harbour protected by two breakwaters and is connected to deep water by a dredged channel. The port has a handling capacity of around 70 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) with 16 berths, including two container berths.
The port handles major cargoes such as coal, copper concentrate, timber logs, phosphoric acid, rock phosphate, granite stone, salt, wheat sugar, construction materials, pulses, VCM, LPG naphtha, furnace oil, ammonia fertiliser, etc.
The port has recorded consistent growth in container traffic in recent years.
