Kochi, Jan 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate projects worth more than Rs 4,000 crore in Kochi on Wednesday focusing on transforming India's ports, shipping, and waterways sectors, an official statement said.

Three major projects worth Rs 4,000 crores, the New Dry Dock (NDD) and the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited are set to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The ISRF and New Dry Dock Project represent a leap forward in India's ship repair and shipbuilding capabilities and will strengthen India's position of eminence in the global maritime space. The establishment of the LPG Import Terminal will significantly enhance India's energy infrastructure by ensuring a steady supply of LPG, benefiting millions of households and businesses in and around the region," an official statement said.

The New Dry Dock, built at a cost of Rs 1,799 Crores at the existing premises of Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi, is a flagship project reflecting India's engineering prowess and project management capabilities, statement said.

"This one-of-a-kind 310-meter-long stepped dry dock, with a width of 75/60 meters, depth of 13 meters and a draught of up to 9.5 metres, is one of the largest marine infrastructures in the region. The New Dry Dock project have incorporated the latest technology and innovations to ensure efficiency, safety, and environmental sustainability," it added.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the New Dry Dock features heavy ground loading and will position India with advanced capabilities to handle strategic assets like future aircraft carriers upto 70,000T displacement as also large commercial vessels including Capesize & Suezmax vessels, Jack-up rigs, LNG vessels etc, thus eliminating India's dependency on foreign nations for emergency national requirements.

"The New Dry Dock is expected to play a significant role in skill development, generate direct employment for around 2000 individuals with a multiplier effect of 5~6x, and facilitate the growth of ancillary industries and MSMEs," it said.

The ISRF project bulit at a cost of Rs 970 Crores is set up on 42 acres of leased premises of the Cochin Port Authority at Willingdon Island, Kochi.

"ISRF project is a unique facility of its own having a ship lift system with a capacity of 6000T, transfer system, six work stations and berth of approximately 1,400 metres which can accommodate 7 vessels of 130-metre length simultaneously," an official statement said.

According to an official statement, the IndianOil's LPG Import Terminal at Puthuvypeen, Kochi, built at an investment of Rs 1,236 Crores, boasts a state-of-the-art infrastructure connected with a Multi-User Liquid Terminal Jetty through a 3.5 km Cross Country Pipeline that can achieve the capacity of 1.2 MMTPA."

"The terminal is a project of national importance at the strategic location of Kochi from where it shall cater to the LPG requirement of Southern India. With a 15400 MT storage capacity, the terminal will ensure LPG distribution through road and pipeline transfers, benefitting bottling plants in Kerala and Tamil Nadu," it said.

"The project anticipates annual logistic savings of Rs 150 crores, reducing CO2 emissions by 18 thousand tons per annum. The construction of the LPG Import Terminal has also resulted in the creation of 3.7 lakh man-days during the construction phase and will lead to 19800 man-days per year during operation phase," it added.

Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways reviewed the preparations for the key projects on Tuesday.

T K Ramachandran IAS Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Rajesh Kumar Sinha IAS Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Madhu S Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, CSL were also present. (ANI)

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