106 of 804 Sagarmala projects allocated for TN
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, extended invitations to businesses from Chennai to explore investment opportunities within the domestic maritime sector. The meeting, featuring over 45 Indian missions and foreign representatives, emphasised on the forthcoming Global Maritime India Summit (GMIS) 2023. Minister Sonowal encouraged ambassadors to leverage their influence to engage respective governments and corporations from various nations in this significant event. The summit is to happen in Delhi from October 27-29 and expected to attract over Rs 10 lakh crore investment.
India’s first green hydrogen hub is to come up at Tutukudi with a potential to attract about Rs 80,000 crore. The port is planning to establish a green hydrogen plant with a daily capacity of 10 tonnes. Sonowal pointed to Tamil Nadu benefitting from 106 projects worth Rs 1.4 crore, of the total 804 Sagarmala programmes. Of this 48 projects have been completed, 28 are under implementation and 30 are in different stages of implementation. Tamil Nadu Minister for Minor Ports, E V Velu stressed on the need for increased investment by the centre to expand ports in the state and remarked that investments in Tutukudi port is set to attract businesses to the southern part of the state. Sunil Paliwal, Chairperson, Chennai Port Authority, stressed on the need to address capacity constraints to increase competitiveness.
Currently 75 per cent of India’s transshipment cargo is handled in Singapore, Colombo and Malaysia. To save time and also foreign exchange, Sonowal shared the plans of making Galathea Bay in Great Nicobar Island as an international transhipment hub. Strategic location of just about 40 nautical miles from the international shipping trade route, availability of natural depth and carrying capacity of transshipment cargo make this the ideal location.
