The V.O. Chidambaranar Port’s ₹17,167-crore Outer Harbour project was approved on Saturday by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
“The project will create major new harbour infrastructure and container terminal capacity, laying the foundation for the next phase of growth at VOCPA,” the Tuticorin-based port authority said in a Facebook post.
This marks a significant step forward for the port’s ambitious project, for which PM Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone in February 2024, after which it faced multiple delays. It was after restructuring that the project was backed by the Public-Private-Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) in April this year.
This had seen the Outer Harbour project split into two components, as per an ET Infra report.
One component involves the construction of basic facilities such as a breakwater, rock bund, and wharf, as well as vital activities such as capital dredging, reclamation for a backup yard and allied onshore facilities, including maintenance. The VOCPA will undertake this component under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at an investment of ₹11,733.28 crore.
The second component involves the mechanisation and operation of the container terminal, including yard infrastructure and equipment. This will be done by a private operator under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) framework, at an investment of ₹5,434.09 crore.
“(The Outer Harbour project) will be commissioned within three years to transform Tuticorin into a major transshipment hub,” Susanta Kumar Purohit, CMD, VOC and Paradip Ports, had said on September 25 at THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2026, adding that the ₹570-crore Berth No. 1 and the ₹750-crore multi-cargo berth have already been sanctioned.
Cargo handling at the port will also receive a huge boost due to the VOCPA earmarking 40,000 square metres of additional space to support the storage and stacking of container cargo moving through mainline services.
This includes 20,000 square metres of additional space at Berth No. 7, and another 20,000 square metres at Berth No. 10. Eligible laden EXIM containers handled through mainline vessels can also avail the extended storage window of up to 10 days. Both these facilities have been made available till March 31, 2027.
“By combining additional stacking space with an extended free-storage window, VOC Port is seeking to make the movement of mainline container cargo through the port more operationally convenient for shipping lines, industries and logistics intermediaries,” the VOCPA said in a statement on Friday.
