V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority has inked Memorandums of Understanding to the tune of ₹90,936 crore, including three involving a total investment of ₹45,000 crore in green energy sector, during ‘India Maritime Week 2025’ held in Mumbai from October 27 to 31.
The event witnessed strong international participation from industry leaders and stakeholders from leading maritime nations. V.O.C. Port Authority signed 29 MoUs with key stakeholders on port modernisation, ship building, information technology, sustainability and other services.
The first among the MoUs signed in green energy sector was with Green Infra Renewable Energy Farms Private Limited (GIREFPL), a Sembcorp Group company, entailing an investment of ₹25,400 crore. Sembcorp is a Singaporean State-owned energy and urban development company. This MoU is for the establishment of a common storage farm for green ammonia and other hydrogen derivatives.
The second MoU was exchanged with ACME Green Hydrogen and Chemicals Private Limited for a 1,200 tonnes per day green ammonia project, valued at ₹15,000 crore, and the third was signed with CGS Energy Private Limited for a 300 tonnes per day green ammonia production facility, at an investment of ₹5,000 crore.
Prior to the conclave, the port also inked a pact with State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu worth ₹30,000 crore for creating ship-building facility here. And, investments to the tune of ₹17,000 crore has been pledged by Indian Port, Rail and Ropeway Corporation Limited and some other smaller players.
The event also featured the launch of a case study by the IIM – Calcutta, on ‘Sustainable Transformation and Decarbonisation in India’s Maritime Sector – V.O.C. Port’s Journey to a Green Port’. It highlights the inherent challenges of transitioning to sustainable operations, while showcasing the port’s achievements and its emerging role as a hub for green hydrogen initiatives.
The case study was released by Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), in the presence of Vijay Kumar, Secretary, MoPSW, S. Venkatesapathy, Joint Secretary, MoPSW, Susanta Kumar Purohit, Chairperson, V.O.C. Port Authority, and Ramya Venkateswaran of IIM – Calcutta.
On the concluding day, V.O.C. Port was honoured with ‘Green Visionary’ award for bringing out its ongoing and future green initiatives in its pavilion.
Mr. Purohit and Rajesh Soundararajan, Deputy Chairman, V.O.C. Port Authority, received the award from Mr. Sonowal in the presence of Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Published – November 04, 2025 08:50 pm IST
