As many as 123 of the 200 works announced under the Sagarmala Project of the Union government for better sea connectivity have been completed so far. On 23 August 2019, various projects worth Rs 192.7 crore were inaugurated at the V O Chidambaranar (VOC) Port Trust by Mansukh L Mandaviya , Minister of State for Shipping (Independent Charge).
The works were being carried out at Rs 3,000 crore at the port will be completed by 2025. Foundation stone was also laid for two works including widening of the harbour entrance to be executed at Rs 13.11 crore.
At present, the entrance with a width of 153 mtr can handle vessels with a maximum length of 310 mtr and beam of 48 mtr. Once its widened for 230 mtr and dredged, it can handle new Panamax vessels up to 366 mtr long and with draft of 15.50 mtr. The port which can be the transhipment terminal in the eastern coast will enable motherships from berthing here instead of going to Colombo.
The port has 900 acre of unutilized land which can be used for industrial purposes. Some of the projects inaugurated include the railway line between the marshalling yard and Hare Island at Rs 58.3 crore.
A new coal jetty of 300 mtr x 25 mtr constructed at Rs 97.76 crore replacing the old jetty will increase the capacity from three million tpa to 12 million tpa.
The north cargo berth-III spanning 306 mtr x 22.90 mtr constructed at a cost of Rs 36.52 crore, a fish auctioning shed at Muthirayar Nagar at Rs 15 lakh through corporate social responsibility were some of the other projects inaugurated. Foundation stone was also laid for a 140 kW solar roof top power plant that is to be established at Rs 76 lakh.