Tamil Nadu - Nagapattinam   

Minister commissions reconstructed port

NAGAPATTINAM: The Nagapattinam port, one of the minor ports in the State under the control of the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board, had received security certification from the International Ship and Port Security Board, said Minister for Highways and Minor Ports M. P. Saminathan here on Saturday.

Inaugurating the tsunami-affected Nagapattinam port, reconstructed on an outlay of Rs.47 crore with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the Minister said that a dredger had been bought at a cost of Rs.7 crore for the port and the estuary of Kaduvaiyar near the port was being desilted to ensure free movement of mechanised fishing boats and trawlers.

The Minister said that the port had been provided with facilities to handle all types of ships and pointed out that the existing north and south breakwaters were strengthened with natural stones, besides the damaged wharf and cargo handling area.

He pointed out that minor ports in the State had handled nearly 15 lakh tonnes of cargo in the last two years and earned a revenue of Rs.15 crore. Nagapattinam port was handling cargo such as palmolein and coconut oilcake.

There were 40 minor ports in places such as Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Pamban, Rameswaram, Valinokkam, Kanyakumari and Kolachel under the control of the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board and more than a dozen minor ports under private control.

Mr. Saminathan said that a minor port would come up near Tirukkuvalai in Nagapattinam district along with the proposed thermal power plant to be established in the area at a cost of Rs.1,800 crore.

U. Mathivanan, Minister for Dairy Development, who presided over the function, said that the Government was according priority to the development of ports and fishing harbours to help fishermen in the State.

C. Muthukumarasamy, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of Tamil Nadu Martitime Board, said that all the minor ports in the State together had handled nearly 6.22 lakh tonnes of cargo and earned a revenue of Rs.8.10 crore during the current year.

Collector M. Jayaraman said that a fishing harbour would be established at a cost of Rs. 3 crore at Kaduvayar near Nagapattinam port. Various development works were being carried out at fishing harbours in the district.

A. K. S. Vijayan, MP; V. Marimuthu and S. K. Vedarathinam, MLAs; and S.Sainath, State Port Officer, among others spoke.

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