Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate three major infrastructure projects in Kochi worth ₹4,000 crore on Wednesday which comprises the New Dry Dock (NDD) and the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of Cochin Shipyard Limited and LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation.

The ISRF and New Dry Dock Project represent a leap forward in India’s ship repair and shipbuilding capabilities and will strengthen country’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, Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways told reporters.

New Dry Dock

The New Dry Dock, built at a cost of ₹1,799 crore at the existing premises of CSL is a one-of-a-kind 310-meter-long stepped dry dock, with a depth of 13 meters and a draught of up to 9.5 metres. It is one of the largest marine infrastructures in the region.

The new dry dock features heavy ground loading which will position India with advanced capabilities to handle strategic assets like future aircraft carriers up to 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.

Enhancing capacities

The ISRF project costing ₹970 crore is set up on 42 acres of leased premises of the Cochin Port Authority at Willingdon Island. The ISRF will modernise and expand the existing ship repair capabilities of CSL and aspires to transform Kochi as a global ship repair hub and align with Prime Minister’s vision of creating ship repair clusters in India.

These projects put together will significantly enhance the nation’s ship building and repair capacities including the development of ancillary industries aligning with the Government of India’s Maritime India Vision 2030 (MIV2030).

The IndianOil’s LPG Import Terminal at Puthuvypeen, Kochi, built at an investment of Rs1,236 crore, boasts a state-of-the-art infrastructure connected with Multi-User Liquid Terminal Jetty through a 3.5 km Cross Country Pipeline which can achieve the capacity of 1.2 MMTPA. The terminal is a project of national importance at strategic location of Kochi from where it shall cater to 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. The project anticipates annual logistic savings of Rs150 crore, reducing CO2 emissions by 18 thousand tonnes per annum.

Related Topics