T.E. Raja Simhan
Chennai, May 19
The Colachel port, a minor port in Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, is back in news.
Even
as the earlier plans of developing it as a major port did not take off
due to the requirement of a huge investment of over Rs 2,000 crore, the
Tamil Nadu Maritime Board has once again initiated the process of its
development by asking iMaritime Consultants, Mumbai, to prepare a techno
economic feasibility report on the port's development.
“We
want to know what can be done with the minor port. Whether there is a
possibility of developing a mega port exists or not. If there is a
possibility of a development, which will be taken up in a phased manner,
a detailed plan will be given out by the consultant,” according to
sources.
Colachel's advantage is being close to the
international shipping route and has sufficient draft to establish a
port to handle large ships close the shore.
RITES Ltd
in its ‘Port Vision 2020' report had identified Colachel as a suitable
port for developing into container transhipment hub port. Since this
project involves large amount of investment, the Union Government has
requested for funding assistance.
However, the
Government, last July, informed that the Tamil Nadu Government may
implement the project, according to the Policy Note on Highways
submitted to the State Assembly recently.
In fact, in January 2007, the State Government had given a ‘no objection certificate' for developing Colachel.
