Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal speaking at the inauguration of the green hydrogen plant at VOC Port in Thoothukudi on Friday.
| Photo Credit: RAJESH N.
Even as the Tamil Nadu government has been condemning the insufficient release of Central funds, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said the Centre had allocated more than ₹93,000 crore for 98 projects in Chennai, Kamarajar, and VOC ports over the past 11 years.
After inaugurating the green hydrogen plant and laying the foundation stone for various projects, costing about ₹350 crore, in the VOC Port on Friday, Mr. Sonowal said the Centre had allocated ₹93,715 crore under the ‘SagarMala’ programme for 98 modernisation and infrastructure augmentation projects in Chennai Port Trust, Kamarajar Port in Chennai, and VOC Port in Thoothukudi.
While 50 of these works have already been completed, 19 are being executed, and the remaining 29 are in various phases of implementation.
The infrastructure created in the three ports in the past 11 years would increase their cumulative cargo handling capacity from 167 million tonnes to 338 million tonnes per annum.
Moreover, the ‘turn around’ duration of ships at VOC Port has come down from 94 hours to 46 hours, thanks to the new infrastructure.
By commissioning the green hydrogen plant, VOC has become the first Indian port to produce green hydrogen. This plant will power the street lights and e-cars operated by the port. “By commissioning this pilot project, the VOC Port could possibly attract over 41,000 crore investment and emerge as the green hydrogen hub,” the Minister said while complimenting the port authorities for their green power initiatives such as investment in wind and solar energy generation units.
The VOC Port also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government for launching a special purpose vehicle for the construction of a shipbuilding and ship repairing yard near the port. Both the port and the government will have equal share in this venture. Managing Director, SIPCOT, K. Senthil Raj signed the MoU on behalf of the government.
“We have sufficient land for this project near the port,” said T.K. Ramachandran, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Since India had started concentrating on ship building, it would be one of the 10 major global players in this industry by 2030, and secure a place in the top five spots by 2047, Mr. Sonowal said.
“We are systematically creating a positive ecosystem in the maritime industry to achieve this target. Besides developing infrastructure, we are investing heavily on upskilling the workforce required by the maritime industry,” said the Minister, who thanked the Tamil Nadu government for extending its support in implementing the projects of the Ministry of Shipping and Ports.
When asked about the ‘tariff war’ of the United States, Mr. Sonowal said that his Ministry was confident of creating a maritime corridor between Chennai and Vladivostok to keep India’s operations intact.
The Minister also inaugurated the 2,000-tonnes-per-hour link conveyor from Coal Jetty I to Port Coal Stock Yard, 400 kW rooftop solar power plant, and the air-conditioned community hall of the port.
He laid the foundation stone for the construction of 10th berth, 110/22 kV sub-station, 6 MW wind farm, green methanol bunkering and refuelling facility, railway signalling and telecommunication at Marshalling Yard and Hare Island, and the maritime heritage museum.
Minister for Social Welfare P. Geetha Jeevan, Tirunelveli MLA and State BJP president Nainar Nagendran, and VOC Port chairman Susanta Kumar Purohit were present at the event.
Published – September 06, 2025 12:24 am IST
