Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal will inaugurate the National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts, IIT M – Discovery Campus on Monday in Chennai.

The centre has been established in IIT Madras at a cost of Rs 77 crore under the Sagarmala Programme.

The institute acts as a technological arm of the ministry and develops cutting-edge technologies and application products to provide solutions to various challenges faced by ports and the shipping sector.

The Institute has capabilities for undertaking models of the ocean, determining the coastal and estuarine flows, sediment transport and morphodynamics. It also focuses on planning of navigation and manoeuvring, estimation of dredging and siltation, consultancy in port and coastal engineering – designing the structures and breakwaters, autonomous platforms and vehicles.