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NT Bureau
Chennai, Jan 28:
 

Tuticorin Port Trust chairman  N K Raghupathy taking the salute at the  Republic day celebration.

        The total outlay for the XI Five-Year Plan (2007-12) for Tuticorin Port is Rs 6,934.30 crore. The present capacity of 205.5 lakh tonnes of cargo is expected to be raised to 634.75 tonnes at the end of Eleventh Plan.

        This was informed by Tuticorin Port Trust chairman N K Raghupathy during his special address yesterday as part of the 58th Republic Day fete on Port School grounds. He also unfurled the tricolour, took the salute and inspected the Guard of Honour presented by CISF, Port Fire Service and school children.

        He further stated that even though the developing countries like India have achieved tremendous progress, the targets and desired developments have not yet been realised. Tuticorin Port has been rendering valuable service for the growth of industries in the region, he said.

        However, the industrial growth in the hinterland which has a direct bearing in the progress of the Tuticorin Port was still lacking, he noted. Tuticorin Port had registered a continuous growth in the last five years.

        A record traffic of 171 lakh tonnes was handled in 2005-06. The net surplus has increased from around Rs 40 crore in 2001-02 to about Rs 100 crore in 2006-07 and the cargo handled has increased by 40 per cent in that period, Raghupathy informed.

        Though he had set a personal target of 200 lakh tonnes of cargo and 5 lakh TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) of containers to be handled in 2006-07, due to constraints in infrastructure the port was not able to reach that milestone. In the current year, a record volume of 180 lakh tonnes of cargo and 3.6 lakh containers were expected to be handled at the port. 'Even though the progress has been satisfactory in spite of the shortfall of my personal target, the delay in giving environmental clearance for development projects for last two years has contributed to not achieving the milestone,' Raghupathy said.

        During the 125th year celebration of Chennai Port Trust, Union Minister of Shipping T R Baalu had announced an investment of Rs 7,000 crore for the development of Tuticorin Port in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.

        The scheme include deepening of harbour basin to 12.8 metre draught at a cost of Rs 442 crore, dredging of outer harbour with a draught of 14.5 metre at a cost of Rs 998 crore and construction of new berths at a cost of Rs 479 crore. For four laning of NH 7A linking Tuticorin and Palayamkottai, the port would contribute Rs 25 crore. The construction of 9th berth at a cost of Rs 45 crore and upgradation of port roads at a cost of of Rs 18 crore have already begun.