Defence Minister A.K. Antony will lay the foundation stone for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Academy at Azhikkal here on May 28.
A press release issued here on Thursday by the Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing) said that the Central government had sanctioned the establishment of the Coast Guard Academy to cater to the growing training commitments of its personnel as part of the ICG's ongoing modernisation and expansion drive.
The futuristic academy with state-of-the-art training infrastructure will come up at a site that is hardly 20 km from the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala and is well-connected by road and rail. The land for the project has been acquired from the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA).
The academy will have training facilities for all maritime-specific courses for personnel of the ICG, Navy, Marine Police and members of the littoral countries in disciplines like search and rescue, marine oil spill response, maritime law, fisheries, boarding and rummaging.
In response to the enhanced role the ICG has been assigned, the service is pursuing urgent enhancement of its surveillance capabilities. The ICG is also establishing new stations, Air units and coastal surveillance network at 46 sites to enable effective monitoring of vessels operating near the coast.
Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty, ICG Director-General Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, political leaders and representatives of various Central and State governments will attend the function.
