The Chennai Port Authority is reviving the outer harbour project for the third time, after it was first mooted 18 years back.
Chennai Port Authority has issued a global tender to select a Transaction Advisor for Development of the New Outer Harbour. The Authority will conduct a study to determine the financial viability of the project. If found financially viable, the project may be awarded on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis.
The project will not only augment connectivity, but also bring additional cargo and will continue to play an active role in overall regional growth; a strong need for capacity addition is felt at Chennai Port, the tender said.
In 2007, a proposal was floated to “Develop a Mega Container Terminal at North of Bharathi Dock”, having a 2 km quay length with 4 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit capacity, in the PPP mode on DBFOT basis, to handle larger container vessels. Tenders were invited but on account of recession conditions, the response was poor and the revenue share offered was low. The tender was cancelled.
The project was restructured in 2013 as “Development of Outer Harbour Project at Chennai Port” for handling multipurpose cargo (clean cargo only), at an estimated cost of ₹5,100 crore. Bids were invited in 2014, but there was no response from potential bidders. Hence, the proposal was dropped.
However, the project has now been taken up for the third time, and is being revived taking into consideration industrial development in Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring states; the transshipment needs of the region; evaluation of the global shipping industry; and the upcoming Chennai port–Maduravoyal elevated corridor.