Enayam Port

Tamil Research Institute
RAPID TECHNO-ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR
DEVELOPMENT OF COLACHEL PORT AT TAMILNADU
FINAL REPORT
5.2.2. Alternative 2: Colachel
Colachel is a medium-sized town, with a population of around 25,000, located approximately 8 km southeast
of Enayam. Most of the people are fishermen or farmers, with a small section of traders and manufacturers.
Figure 25: Area of Colachel
The village is located near the beaches created by the breakwaters along the coast, where villagers leave their
fishing boats.
At the eastern end of the village there is a small fishing port. For several years, this port was just a beach
defended by a rubble mound breakwater, but it is currently being expanded to add a berth for unloading fish
from medium size boats (around 15 m long) working in the area.
A small river flows into the sea about 500 m west of the fishing port. It divides the town into two parts, with some
rice plantations standing in between.
Overall, the area near the village is densely populated. One has to travel 1.5 km to the east to find less
populated areas.
With regard to the water area, there are some rocky outcrops around the cape and even a small chapel has
been built there, but the rest of the coast is sandy. The -20.0 contour line is located approximately 2,000 or
2,500 m from the coast.
• Port description
The proposed port location is supported by the small cape on the coast and goes out toward deeper waters via
a north-south oriented breakwater until reaching the -20.0 m level. Upon reaching this depth, the breakwater
turns eastward to maintain the same depth until it is long enough to protect the inland waters from the southern
waves.
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