The ambitious outer harbour development project of V.O. Chidambaranar Port is being redesigned as no suitable private investor could be identified for the ₹7,000 crore plan, according to Port Chairman Susanta Kumar Purohit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the project in February 2024, with the intention of executing it under private participation.
Mr Purohit said a fresh, detailed project report is being prepared and will be submitted to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways before March 2026 for mandatory approval. “Once the nod is obtained, work on the ambitious outer harbour development will commence,” he said. To make the project more attractive, it is being restructured into multiple phases so investors can participate in stages.
Highlighting achievements during the current fiscal, he said a link conveyor from Coal Jetty–1 to the Port Coal Stock Yard has been completed at a cost of ₹24.50 crore, enhancing coal handling capacity to 0.72 million metric tonnes per annum with a discharge rate of 2,000 tonnes per hour. The turning circle draft of 14.20 metres has been expanded from 488 metres to 550 metres, enabling the port to handle vessels up to 95,000 DWT.
The North Cargo Berth-3, built at a cost of ₹285 crore with a 14.20-metre draft, can handle seven million tonnes of coal, limestone, gypsum and rock phosphate annually. Mechanisation of this berth is underway at a cost of ₹265.15 crore. The 365-metre-long ninth berth has been converted into a container terminal at an outlay of ₹434.17 crore to handle six lakh TEUs per year.
Among ongoing projects, the construction of Berth 10 with a 7.40-hectare backup yard is in progress to handle 10 million tonnes of multi-cargo and 1.25 lakh DWT vessels. A four-lane highway is being laid to connect the Port’s Point of Supply and Tuticorin Thermal Power Station round to improve truck movement.
The widening of the port entrance channel from 153 metres to 230 metres has been taken up at a cost of ₹16.39 crore. Mr Purohit noted a major milestone with the direct admission of factory-stuffed, e-sealed export containers into port terminals round-the-clock, bypassing Container Freight Stations.
The inner harbour and channel dredging will be undertaken at a cost of ₹1,000 crore to handle bigger vessels, while a shipbuilding and repair facility worth ₹700 crore is being developed. The port has also proposed ithe nstallation of offshore wind turbines at a cost of ₹146 crore and a ₹67.44 crore desalination plant with a capacity of three million litres per day. To enhance security and surveillance, ₹25 crore has been earmarked.
