V O Chidambaranar Port, one of the popular seaports of Tamil Nadu, has earmarked Rs 41,860 crore worth of investments, aimed at making it the Green Hydrogen-Ammonia hub of the country, a top official said. The port has also taken measures to augment capacity after witnessing an increase in cargo handling this year. V O Chidambaranar Port has handled a cargo volume of 29.70 million tonnes including 5.62 lakh TEUs of containers till December 19, 2024 this is an overall growth of 1.87 per cent and 6.74 per cent, respectively.

"With the ever-increasing trend in cargo handling, the Port has initiated several strategic capacity augmentation and cargo evacuation initiatives to increase cargo throughput, enhance handling efficiency and expand its market share in the region," a press release said on Sunday.

As part of a mission to position V O Chidambaranar Port as the Green Hydrogen-Ammonia Hub of India, the Port has allocated 501 acres of land to four firms for establishing Green Hydrogen and Ammonia manufacturing and storage facilities at a total investment of Rs 41,860 crore, the release said.

A pilot demonstration for the production of green hydrogen, storage and power generation using fuel cells is currently under progress and it is expected to be completed by January 2025.