Chennai: The Shipping Ministry has allocated Rs 300 crore to the Indian Maritime University to create infrastructure facilities including academic complex, administrative building, library, hostels and residential accommodation over the next five years.

As a first step, a ‘bhoomi pooja’ was performed for the construction of the university’s academic and administrative complex at Semmenjeri, near Chennai on Saturday.

Union Minister for Shipping GK Vasan, who was here to participate in the pooja, said the university would be unique in the country and produce ‘high quality’ manpower in the maritime sector not only for India but also meet international requirements.

The university, headquartered at Chennai, was announced in November 2008 through an Act of Parliament by integrating seven government-owned maritime academic institutions.

IMU vice chancellor P Vijayan said the academic and administrative complex was expected to come up in a year’s time. Of the 300 acres allotted for the campus, the university will utilise 106 acres and the remaining land would be for a national maritime complex.

The complex will be built in public-private-partnership and have facilities like maritime museum, international convention centre with a seating capacity of 15,000, a five-star hotel and a catering college.