Tamil Nadu VO Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi is committed to transforming into a transshipment hub of south India after the approval of the 9th berth containerization project by the Centre. The VOC Port is in the process of procuring three e-cars for use in Port activities first time in the history of Ports across Indian shores, TK Ramachandran, Chairman of the Port, said after unfurling the national flag on 72nd Republic Day. He also distributed meritorious awards to Port staff.
The transhipment hub in Thoothukudi would get the containers directly shipped to India as against the existing system of containers being transhipped at Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port. The demographical factor, Thoothukudi sits right between the east and west international trade routes, industrialists of southern districts has earlier urged the Union government to declare Thoothukudi V O Chidambaranar Port as an International Container Transhipment Hub.
The port is completely sheltered from natural calamities such as cyclone and tsunami. The industrialists says, the port has an edge over nearby ports as it has “abundant land, skilled workforce, well-aligned roadways, railways and airways with Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and plenty of storage and logistics”. The development was made after the industrialists from southern Tamil Nadu had written to the Tamil Nadu chief minister, all Tamil Nadu MPs and the union shipping minister to take steps to upgrade the VOC port into an International Container Transhipment Hub.
Source : News Track Live