Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) will develop an automobile terminal at Bharathi Dock II, the non-operational iron ore terminal, to handle ro-ro (roll on-roll off) vessels. This will have a yard space to park nearly 4,000 cars.

The port used to handle around 18 million tonnes of iron ore and coal, but stopped handling them from October 2011 due to a prohibitory order of the Madras High Court. This resulted in an annual loss of around Rs 225 crore, with iron ore alone contributing Rs 105 crore, said a senior ChPT official.

Alternative cargo To offset the loss, the port trust decided to redevelop the iron ore facility to handle alternative cargo. After a detailed study, the port trust decided to develop an automobile terminal and allow a private operator to run the terminal for a period of 10 years, said a source.

The terminal will have a yard space of around 10 hectares. The estimated cost of the project to develop the parking yard for export and import automobiles will be Rs 30 crore, which will be invested by the developer. Chennai port handled 2.72 lakh cars, with a majority of them of Hyundai’s in 2012-13.

R. Sethuraman, Director, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Hyundai Motor India, said the project would be helpful as more space will be made available inside the port.

Manufacturers can bring cars well in advance, park them in the yard and roll-in to the vessels on arrival. There is no shortage of space now, but when the economy picks up, exports will increase and more space will be required inside the port.

The study to look at alternative cargo envisaged that around 60,000 square metre area could be released immediately at BD-II for development, as there is no encumbrance in this area. raja.simhan@thehindu.co.in

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