NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Karnataka and Kerala on September 1-2 to commission the first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Ltd in Kochi. He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for projects worth around Rs 3,800 crore in Mangaluru.
At 6 pm on September 1, the PM will visit Sri Adi Shankara Janma Bhoomi Kshetram, the birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya, at Kalady village near Cochin airport. At 9.30 am on September 2, the PM will commission the first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Ltd in Kochi. Thereafter at 1.30 pm, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 3,800 crore in Mangaluru, the PMO said on Tuesday.
The PM has been a strong proponent of Aatmanirbharta, especially in strategic sectors. In what will mark a significant step towards self-reliance in the defence sector, he will commission the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd, a public sector shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, INS Vikrant has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India.
The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) is named after her illustrious predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier which had played a vital role in the 1971 war. It has a large number of indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country as well as over 100 MSMEs. With the commissioning of Vikrant, India will have two operational aircraft carriers, which will bolster the maritime security of the nation.
During the event, the Prime Minister will also unveil the new Naval Ensign (Nishaan), doing away with the colonial past and befitting the rich Indian maritime heritage.
Modi will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of mechanisation and industrialisation projects worth around Rs 3,800 crore in Mangaluru.
He will inaugurate aproject worth over Rs 280 crore for mechanisation of Berth No. 14 for handling containers and other cargo, undertaken by the New Mangalore Port Authority. The mechanised terminal will increase efficiency and reduce the turnaround time, pre-berthing delay and dwell time in the Port by around 35 per cent, thus giving a boost to the business environment.
Phase I of the project has been successfully completed, adding over 4.2 MTPA to the handling capacity, which will further increase to over 6 MTPA by 2025.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone for five projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore, undertaken by the Port. The integrated LPG and Bulk Liquid POL Facility, equipped with state-of-the-art cryogenic LPG storage tank terminal, will be capable of unloading full load VLGC (very large gas carriers) of 45,000 tonnes in a highly efficient manner.
The facility will bolster the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in the region while reinforcing the port’s status as one of the top LPG importing ports in the country. The PM will lay the foundation stone for the construction of storage tanks and edible oil refinery, construction of bitumen storage and allied facilities and construction of bitumen and edible oil storage and allied facilities.
These projects will improve the turnaround time of bitumen and edible oil vessels and reduce the overall freight cost for trade.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone for the development of the fishing harbour at Kulai, which will facilitate safe handling of fish catch and enable better prices in the global market. This work will be undertaken under the umbrella of the Sagarmala Programme and will result in significant socio-economic benefits for the fishermen community.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate two projects undertaken by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) viz BS-VI Upgradation Project and Sea Water Desalination Plant. The BS-VI Upgradation Project, worth around Rs 1,830 crore, will facilitate the production of ultra-pure environment-friendly BS-VI grade fuel (with sulphur content less than 10 ppm).
The Sea Water Desalination Plant, set up at the cost of around Rs 680 crore, will help reduce dependency on fresh water and ensure a regular supply of hydrocarbons and petrochemicals throughout the year. Having a capacity of 30 million litres per day (MLD), the plant converts seawater into water required for the refinery processes. (ANI)