The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Approval for Sethusamudram project lauded

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 07, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Approval for Sethusamudram project lauded

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, SEPT. 6. The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has lauded the Centre for having approved the Sethusamudram project at a revised cost of Rs. 2,000 crores.

Besides helping to enhance the defence along the southern coast, the project will give an impetus to export trade in Tamil Nadu, especially in the southern districts, said the president, S. Rethinavelu.

The special economic zone at Nanguneri will immensely benefit the region, and the scheme envisaged upgrading the Madurai airport as an international one. "The trade and industry in Tamil Nadu is buoyed over the announcement," Mr. Rethinavelu said in a statement.

Once implemented, he said, the Sethusamudram project would help to cut voyage by 400 nautical miles and the sailing time by 36 hours. It would also transform Tuticorin into a leading container port, fetching a substantial foreign exchange.

The minor ports, such as Ennore, Colachel, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Machilipatnam, would see substantial development, and congestion in major ports would come down significantly.

Mr. Rethinavelu urged the Centre to find a permanent solution to the dispute over sharing river water among the States, as this was posing a threat to national integration. The linking of rivers could make India an economic super power, he said.

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