Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three big projects in Kochi. These include projects that will generate many jobs in the shipping sector as well as earn foreign exchange with ease. A new dry dock at Kochi Shipyard, an international ship repair centre and an LPG import terminal built by Indian Oil Corporation at Puthuvype are the three projects that come from the Rs 4,000 crore investment in Kerala inaugurated by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister arrived in Kochi and inaugurated these projects after visiting Guruvayur and Triprayar Sri Ramaswamy Temple. All three projects are different from each other and are going to open new avenues for the progress and development of India, especially Kerala. The dry dock has been built for Rs 1800 crore at the shipyard. This construction gloats the engineering prowess of India in the maritime field. The dry dock can build and handle aircraft carriers of up to 70000 tonnes, bulk cargo ships, and LNG carriers.

2000 people will be directly employed when the dock gets into fully operational mode. A dry dock is a workshop for building and repairing large ships. Hitherto, India used to approach foreign countries to meet this demand. The cost of maintenance is lower in India compared to European countries and the US. It is thus expected that many countries will set their sights on Cochin Shipyard from now on. This would also buoy the country’s foreign exchange.

The second project, the Global Ship Repairing Center, can repair up to seven ships at a time. The investment is Rs 970 crore. It has a system that can repair up to 150 ships a year. The International Ship Repair Center was constructed by leasing 42 acres of land from Cochin Port on Wellington Island.

A new LPG import terminal has been prepared for Rs 1236 crore at Puthuvype in Kochi. It is designed to meet the cooking gas requirement of South India. The delay of five years due to various objections led to the construction cost increasing several times, but the fact that it has been completed now should be considered a great achievement. This centre will provide cooking gas for domestic and industrial needs in Kerala.

Apart from the direct jobs, these projects will also create many indirect jobs. The greatest benefit of these projects will be enjoyed by the youths of Kerala. Once these projects are fully operational, Kochi will become a global hub in the maritime industry. The Prime Minister described it as his good fortune to inaugurate these projects. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister on the occasion