Tamil Nadu keen on Enayam transhipment port project

The Tamil Nadu government is keen on implementing the Enayam Port project, state Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has conveyed to Union Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways & Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan.

She informed Radhakrishnan about the state government's stand on the proposed port project here on Friday as he called on her at the state secretariat and sought state support for the commencement of survey work for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the port in Kanyakumari district.

In a statement issued here, the government said the Chief Minister assured Radhakrishnan of the state government's support.

Jayalalithaa told Radhakrishnan that she had been keen on implementing the Enayam Colachel Port project, but the lack of support from the successive central governments had meant that the project could never take off.

Radhakrishnan informed the Chief Minister that the port will be at a place nearly 1 km away from Enayam and that Enayam will not be affected by this construction.

The port will be built by reclaiming land from the sea and no existing habitation will be affected, he maintained.

The central government envisages the Enayam Port as a major transhipment port.

Jayalalithaa also assured Radhakrishnan of expediting the project when he sought land allotment for setting up a rubber research centre in Kanyakumari.

She also asked Radhakrishnan to ensure adequate maintenance funding from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the upkeep of roads taken over by NHAI.

--IANS

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