CM to inaugurate 125th year celebrations of Chennai Port

Chennai, Dec 2 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will inaugurate the 125th year celebrations of the Chennai Port Trust on January 17 by laying the foundation stone for the second container terminal to be built at a cost of Rs 492 crore.

Addressing a press conference here today, after releasing the Logo of the 125th year celebrations, Union Minister for Shipping and Road Transport T R Baalu said the Chief Minsiter would also lay the foundation stone for Ironore terminal to be built at a cost of Rs 500 crore and Coal terminal at a cost of Rs 350 crore.

After releasing a book on the History of the Chennai port, Mr Karunanidhi would distribute gold coin and wrist watches to the employees of the port as part of the celebrations, Mr Baalu said.

Almost all Union Ministers from the state, including P Chidambaram. Dayanidhi Maran and Anumabi Ramadoss have been invited to participate in the function, he added.

A day after the inaugural function, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee would inaugurate the International Conference on Infrastructure Development in Port sector and Management (IDPM).

The conference would address issues relevant to the Port sector, including connectivity, infrastructure, modernisation and management, he said.

On January 19, Tamil Nadu Local Administration Minister M K Stalin would inaugurate the Exhibition on Port Public Interface. And on January 16, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar would inaugurate and flag off the boat race, organised for fishermen. The races would be held in four categories and the winners would be given cash prizes ranging from Rs 3000 to Rs 25,000, Mr Baalu said.

Moreover, on January 19, School children would be taken in batches to visit the port area and witness the port activities.

During the period, the Tuticorin and Ennore port would also be open for school students, he said.

Mr Baalu said till November 30, the Port had achieved 34,881 million tonnes of traffic, which was the highest ever in the history of the port. On a single day, the container terminal had handled 4200 containers which was also the highest, equalising Visakhapatnam.

He, further informed that the Port had appointed M/s Deloitte to prepare a business plan for the development of the port in the next 20 years.

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