Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways & Coast Discovery Campus in Chennai

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Discovery Campus of the National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts at IITM, Chennai, Tamil Nadu today. This centre aims at enabling Research & development for the marine sector enabling solutions towards achieving the ultimate goal of building a robust marine industry in the country. This state-of-the-art centre will ensure advancement in the field of maritime technology, as well as modernisation & upgradation possibilities in the port & operations towards achieving the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat by 2047.

National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts has world class capabilities for undertaking the 2D & 3D investigations of research and consultancy nature for the Port, Coastal, and Waterways sector across all disciplines. Modelling of Ocean, determining the Coastal & Estuarine Flows, Sediment transport and morph dynamics, planning of Navigation and Maneuvering, estimation of Dredging & Siltation, consultancy in Port and Coastal Engineering – designing the Structures and Breakwaters, Autonomous Platforms & vehicles, Experimental & CFD modelling of flow & Hull interaction, Hydrodynamics of multiple hulls, Ocean renewable energy coupled with port facilities are some of the areas where NTCPWC has already contributed to optimise capability of marine sector of India. The Chennai facility has 5 state-of-the-art labs, covering every aspect of design and development, simulation, analysis and production of marine and maritime solutions in line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision. The laboratories created are among the best in comparison with other International Labs in the specific domain.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sonowal said, “With the inauguration of this state-of-the-art centre dedicated towards research and development of technological solutions to enable growth of marine sector, we move closer to achieving the vision of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji to make India an atmanirbhar country. The role of marine sector is supreme in the nation building. As we continue to embark on our journey to improve our performance, such centres will play a pivotal role in this regard. We believe that our rich & talented pool of engineers & scientists will provide cutting edge modern solutions able to deal with dynamic challenges of the marine sector. By developing a multi modal system of logistics movement, the vision of Prime Minister Modi ji to empower our logistics sector to become efficient yet cost effective through PM National Gate Shakti has received a tremendous shot in the arm with the launch of this centre. Our Sagarmala programme has been designed to bring in transformation in the existing system to become modern, world class ports and power the engine of growth of India.”

The Union Minister also assured that this facility would be expanded to include more World Class Lab Facilities and Innovation Hubs to support Maritime Start-Ups.

To advance the Sagarmala Programme’s objectives, NTCPWC will deal in applied research while analyzing and fostering port and maritime industry activities. Major Ports including Deendayal Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Paradeep Port, Chennai Port, Kamarajar Port, VOC port, New Mangalore Port, Visakhapatnam Port have contributed generously toward creation of the institute. Significant contributions have also been provided by Inland Waterways Authority of India. The SMP Kolkata, Mormugao port and Cochin port have also partnered in this activity by providing major case study centers.

This technology centre will also reduce the cost of research drastically and result in cost and time savings for work in the port and maritime sector. This centre shall provide effective solutions to an extensive range of problems being faced in the industry through scientific support and also providing valuable education, applied research and technology transfer in maritime transportation at the local, regional, national and International levels.

In order to enhance port-led development and develop coastlines to support India’s economy, Sagarmala Program is a strategic and customer-oriented project to modernize India’s ports sector. Initiatives under Sagarmala in last eight years to support critical economic activities in the hinterland and to address the growing trade volume needs while reducing logistics cost by improved efficiencies have helped in lowering overall operational costs of ports, reducing turnaround time for vessels, increasing efficiency and throughput, providing the ability to handle larger ships and developing strategic importance of Indian ports in the South Asian region.

Under Sagarmala Scheme, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has partially funded 171 projects worth Rs. 10,900 Crore across coastal states and UTs. Out of 171 projects, 48 projects worth Rs. 2,900 Crore have been completed and 123 projects worth Rs. 8,000 Crore are under various stages of implementation and development. In FY 22-23, 37 projects worth Rs. 2500 Crore have been sanctioned by this Ministry under the Sagarmala Scheme. To harness the efficiency from private sector in operations, 52 projects worth Rs. 40,200 Crore have been completed at Major Ports in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Further, 84 projects worth Rs. 49,500 Crore are under various stages of implementation and development. In addition to above, Sagarmala Development Company Limited has invested Rs. 530 Crore in 4 projects in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, which have been completed.

An impetus has been given by the Government under the Sagarmala Program to undertake projects which will result in shift of cargo from land-based transportation to coastal and inland waterways mode which is sustainable and environment friendly. The overall amount of coastal freight handled at ports has increased by ~16% in FY 2022-23 when compared to previous fiscal year because of these measures.

It is the result of these efforts at ports that total cargo handled at ports has registered a growth of ~8.6 % in FY 2022-23 when compared to previous fiscal year. This has contributed in India achieving the $440 billion of merchandise export projected for FY 2022-23.

During the inauguration, Ms Malini V Shankar Vice Chancellor, Indian Maritime University, Shri Sunil Paliwal Chairperson, Chennai Port Authority, Dr. Venkata Ramana Akkaraju Chairperson, New Mangalore Port Authority, Shri Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IITM, Prof. K Murali, Dean (Faculty) Department of Ocean Engineering; Prof S. Nallayarasu HoD, Department of Ocean Engineering and other dignitaries were also present.