Centre to float tenders for Colachel port

The Shipping Ministry will issue tenders by March for the appointment of a consultant for the proposed trans-shipment port of Colachel. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said Colachel in Tamil Nadu, Sagar in West Bengal and Wadhawan at Dahanu in Maharashtra will be the three new greenfield ports. ´We have already initiated investments worth Rs.80,000 crore for mechanisation, modernisation and computerisation of ports´, he said. Colachel is being promoted as a trans-shipment hub because of a deep draught of 18.5 metres, said N Muruganandam, MD, Indian Ports Association.