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Our Bureau

Chennai , March 30

THERE is an urgent need to improve rail and road connectivity to the Chennai port, according to the port users. Lack of proper connectivity is the most serious issue affecting the trade and port, they said at an interactive session with Mr D.T. Joseph, Union Shipping Secretary, organised by the CII Institute of Logistics.

The port users drew the attention of the officials to the delay in containers entering and exiting the port.

Mr G. Raghu Sankar, a CII member, said that in the last five years there have been various proposals, including construction of an elevated highway connecting the port with national highways.

However, such projects would take time, whereas the trade wants an immediate solution to the problem.

"We are not geared to handle the present volume, how are we going to handle future volume?"

Widening the access road is one of the solutions, and the congestion in North Chennai needs to be addressed, he added.

Mr Jimmy Sarbh of P&O Ports, which operates the private container terminal inside the Chennai port, called for immediate action to move iron ore and coal out to Ennore Port from Chennai.

"This will ease pressure on road and rail connectivity to Chennai port. The last mile connectivity to the port (Royapuram in North Chennai) is a major hurdle for the terminal operator," he said.

"The Chennai container terminal is set to handle over seven lakh twenty foot equivalent units in the next couple of years and we need good connectivity to handle such a huge volume. We have been talking about this issue for a long time, but nothing has been done."

Mr K. Suresh, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust, acknowledged that connectivity was a problem in North Chennai but said that action has been taken to solve it.

For instance, the Port Trust, EPL, National Highways of India, and the State Government are partners in a special purpose vehicle for a project to connect the Chennai port with the national highways.

The Port Trust has given Rs 13 crore to the project to four-lane the access road in North Chennai, he added.

The Port Trust has also asked L&T Ramboll, a consultancy firm, to look at the viability of a Rs 450-crore exclusive elevated road from the port to Maduravoyal junction, west of Chennai.

If approved, the project could take off in January 2006. A few companies from Singapore and Malaysia have expressed in the project, he said.

On rail connectivity, Mr Suresh said that Sattaa, a private logistics firm, has approached the Port Trust to have a rail connection between the Chennai port and the company's inland container depot at Arakkonam, about 80 km west of Chennai.

The Port Trust has approached the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to allot 60 acres at Sathangadu, located about seven km north of the port, to create back-up area for storing containers, he added.

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