Kanniyakumari port to come up despite obstacles: Pon Radhakrishnan

NAGERCOIL: Regardless of the obstacles, the new major port in Kanniyakumari district will be established, said Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan during the launch of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for Kanniyakumari Port Limited here on Tuesday.

Union Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya, in the presence of Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan launched the SPV. Chennai Port Trust and CMD Kamarajar Port Limited Chairman P Raveendran said, “there is a necessity for the development of the shipping ports in the country as our major trade of export and import occur through the sea. In order to increase the handling capacity of the 12 major ports in the country, Prime Minister Modi launched SagarMala project. While the present total capacity of the ports stands at 1,500 MT, the SagarMala project will bring it up to 3000 MT.”

This project will be completed by 2025. Through this port, the southern countries could trade with European nations as most of the mother vessels would be anchored in the proposed Kanniyakumari port, he added.

Concerning the project details, RK Agarwal, Joint Secretary (Ports), Ministry of Shipping said, “presently, the exporters in South India incur an additional charge of `5,000 to `6,000 per Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) due to the added leg of transshipment and this charge can be avoided once the new port is established. The port will be established in four phases, and the first phase will be executed with a budget of `8,440 crore.”