The Hindu Business Line : Chennai port to set up 2nd box terminal

THE Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) will set up a second container terminal within a year and initiate steps for a 13-km elevated expressway to the western outskirts of Chennai to move out containers, said the Union Minister for Shipping, Mr T.R. Baalu.

Addressing newspersons at the port trust's annual press conference, he said that container handling in the major ports had gone up by 28 per cent between 2003-04 and 2004-05 against the expected 20 per cent. The Ministry has instructed all the port trusts to set up container handling facilities or expand capacity.

At the Chennai Container Terminal, container movement grew by 19 per cent to 6.16 lakh twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It has a capacity to handle about 6.5 lakh TEUs a year. Once the second terminal comes up, the port can handle an additional 1 lakh TEUs in the first year and 6 lakh TEUs within five years of operation.

The second terminal is expected to cost about Rs 490 crore, with the build, operate and transfer (BOT) operator bringing in Rs 392 crore. The port will spend Rs 100 crore to increase the draught to 13.5 metres and reclaim 7 hectares of land as back-up area.

Dovetailed with the increased capacity would be a 13-km elevated expressway along the Poonamallee High Road, from the harbour's Gate No. 2 up to Maduravoyal on the western outskirts of Chennai. With this, containers would move out fast and congestion would be prevented. Discussions will be initiated with the State Government to work together to expedite the projects.

"Both Governments (Union and State Governments) should put their heads together. Otherwise, it would be suicidal for the port," he said. Funding for the Rs 750-crore project will be from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Chennai Port Trust, which would take a 30 per cent equity each. Port users have agreed to chip in with 10 per cent of the equity, he said.

Some of the other facilities to come up at the port include a four-lane access way from the fishing harbour to speed up container movement immediately, a one-million litre a day desalination plant to supply water to ships, wind mills for 15 mega-watts, a small ship-repair facility and a project to reclaim about 67 hectares of land.

According to Mr Baalu, the Panama Government will sign an agreement with the Shipping Ministry to set up a maritime university for training and education. The agreement is likely to be signed in Chennai in May.

The ChPT Chairman, Mr K. Suresh, said that the port handled 43.80 million tonnes (mt) of cargo against 36 mt last year. It has now made up for the 9 mt of cargo it lost in 2001 when it stopped handling coal for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

The cargo includes 24 mt of imports (20 mt) and 19.8 mt of exports (19.6 mt). It has kept the pre-berthing time for ships at 0.9 hours in the last two years despite the increase in cargo. The range of cargo has increased with new items such as steel coil, hot-rolled coil,steel and steel pipes, in addition to the traditional cargo such as iron ore and petroleum products.

The provisional operating income for 2004-05 is Rs 396.48 crore against the estimated Rs 387.34 crore. Its income in 2003-04 was Rs 368.56 crore. The provisional operating surplus for 2004-05 is Rs 119.73 crore (Rs 107.17 crore) against the estimated Rs 96.64 crore.

Pact with Hyundai

ACCORDING to the ChPT Chairman, Mr K. Suresh, Chennai port has entered into an entrepreneurship agreement with Hyundai Motors India Ltd to route the car manufacturer's exports. The agreement is for a 10-year period.

Chennai port has emerged the largest handler of car exports. In 2004-05, it handled 83,631 cars against 39,874 last year. Volvo India Ltd has started using the port to export its heavy commercial vehicles. The Port Trust also hopes to set up a multi-level car park to handle car movement.

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