Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Mar 31, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Mar 31, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
Logistics
-
Shipping Second terminal at Chennai port okayed Our Bureaus
(From right) Mr B. Sridhar, Member, Advisory Board, CII Institute of Logistics; Mr D. T. Joseph, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping; Mr L. Ganesh, former Chairman, CII (SR); Mr M. Raman, Chairman, Ennore Port; and Mr K. Suresh, Chairman, Chennai Port, at an interactive session organised by the CII Institute of Logistics in Chennai on Wednesday. — Shaju John
New Delhi/Chennai , March 30 THE Centre has accorded an `in-principle' approval for the development of a second container terminal at Chennai port on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. The estimated cost of the project would be Rs 491.76 crore, of which Chennai port will contribute around Rs 100 crore and the remaining amount is to be brought in by the BOT operator, an official release said in New Delhi on Wednesday. Meanwhile, at an interactive session with members of the maritime trade organised by the CII Institute of Logistics in Chennai, Mr D.T. Joseph, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, said the second terminal would be an alternative to the private terminal operated by Chennai Container Terminal Ltd (CCT), which has faced frequent labour problems in the last few months. Ennore Port Ltd would take longer to develop a container terminal, while the Chennai port could do it faster as they have the infrastructure to provide alternative arrangements to the trade. "We need to increase maritime assets everywhere in the country. I am not bothered whether a private sector terminal is making money or not. We must increase assets. However, any amount of additional assets created will not cope with the way India will grow in the next few years. So, let us not put any obstruction on creating additional capacities in ports," he said. "CCT will blame the Government for the second terminal at Chennai, saying we did not give them the committed infrastructure. However, a decision needs to be taken based on current facts," he said. According to Mr Joseph, there is enough scope along the East coast for Chennai port to get another terminal, and Ennore Port to construct a large terminal, which in the long run has a huge potential considering the presence of long coastal front and hinterland. Container traffic, which was expected to grow at 18 per cent a few years ago, is now projected to grow by 28 per cent, he said. Mr Jimmy Sarbh of P&O Ports India, which operates CCT, said, "What is the point in having a second terminal in Chennai when we have invested over $100 million (about Rs 450 crore). We are not afraid of competition. We have a problem in evacuating containers out of the port, and this problem would continue even if the second terminal comes in."
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2005, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|