New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated and laid foundation stone of mechanisation and industrialisation projects worth about ₹3,700 crore in Mangaluru.
The Prime Minister inaugurated a project costing more than ₹280 crore for the mechanisation of Berth No 14 for the purpose of handling containers and other cargo operated by the New Mangalore Port Authority. The mechanisation will increase the efficiency of the terminal, take less time for unloading, reduce the delay in the pre-delivery process at berth and bring down the cargo holding time at the port by about 35 per cent, the business environment will improve. The first phase of this project has been successfully completed. Thus, the cargo handling capacity has exceeded 4.2 MTPA, which will further increase to 6 MTPA by 2025.
Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for five port-operated projects costing about ₹1,000 crore. The Integrated LPG and Bulk Liquid POL Facility with a luxurious Cryogenic LPG Storage Tank Terminal will enable efficient filling and unloading of 45,000 Ton Full Capacity VLGCs (Massive Gas Carriers). These facilities will also give a boost to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in the region. This port will become the highest LPG importing port in the country.
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of projects for construction of storage tanks and edible oil refining plants, coal tar stores and related facilities, coal tar and edible oil stores and related facilities. These projects will reduce the working time of coal tar and edible oil carriers and reduce freight charges. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the development of the fishing port of Kulai. This will increase the chances of catching fish and getting better prices in the world market. This work will be done under the Sagarmala program and will be important for the socio-economic benefits of the fishermen community.
The Prime Minister inaugurated two projects, namely BS-VI Upgradation Project and Seawater Desalination Project, run by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited. The BS-VI upgradation project is worth about ₹1,830 crore, which will produce highly pure fuel for the environment with BS-VI standard. The sulfur content in it will be less than 10 ppm. Similarly, sea water desalination project costing about ₹680 crore will reduce dependence on fresh water and ensure regular supply of hydrocarbons and petrochemicals throughout the year. In this plant with a capacity of 30 million liters per day, sea-water will be converted into normal water required for the purification process.
