The Ministry of Environment and Forests has deferred the proposal of the V.O. Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi to deepen the approach channel and other modifications to handle large vessels. During deliberations, the Expert Appraisal Committee (Infra 2) found that the project proponent has neither complied with the conditions stipulated earlier nor submitted an action-taken report.
Port entrance
The Port Trust had sought environment/CRZ clearance for deepening the harbour basin and the approach channel to handle 15.20 m draught vessels, against the present draught of 12.80 m, to handle vessel of LOA (length overall) up to 367 m. This is to facilitate handling of fully laden Panamax vessels (up to 85000T – 90000T) for dry bulk/general cargo and Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) up to 14000TEUs capacity.
Road and rail
The total reclamation area is 151 hectares, which will be used as a backup area for the proposed container terminal and for providing road and rail connectivity, it said.
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