Comments
Work on the Chennai Port Mega Terminal Project is expected to start shortly and the first ship would be anchored in three years at the new terminal, according to Atulya Misra, Chairman of Chennai Port Trust.
He dismissed fears that with the development of Ennore and Karaikal ports that flank the Chennai Port, the latter may lose its pre-eminent position in the region.
Speaking to newspersons here ahead of a trade facilitation meet organised in association with the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore on Friday evening, he said the Chennai Port was aiming to regain its dominant position in container traffic by establishing a mega container terminal with a capacity to handle 4 million tonnes of cargo.
The project would require an investment of close to Rs 4,000 crore which would double the container handling capacity from the current 3.1 mt (a year).
According to the Chennai port Web site, the estimated cost of the mega terminal project was Rs 3,686 crore. To be developed north of existing Bharathi Dock, it would have two new breakwaters (total length 4.5 km) and continuous quay length of 2 km with 22 m. alongside depth (ultimate). It would be capable of handling ultra large container ships of capacity over 15,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit – a standard unit to describe a ship's cargo carrying capacity or a shipping terminal's cargo handling capacity) and length of 400 m. The project was being planned on BOT basis. The BOT operator would invest on berth and breakwater construction, reclamation of backup area, handling equipment and other landside infrastructure (estimated cost Rs 3,125 crore). The cost of dredging, floating crafts and navigational aids (approximately Rs 561 crore) would be borne by Chennai Port. The rated capacity will be 4 million TEUs. The project will be completed by January 2020.
Awaiting security clearances
Misra said the bids have been received and as it was port related work, security clearances were awaited from the Government of India on receipt of which work would be awarded. It would be three years before the first ship anchored at the new terminal and it would take seven years for the project work to be over.
The port was planning a Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off)-cum-multipurpose berth and multi-level car parking facility at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore. He felt that container and ro-ro mode of cargo movement were the future for the Exim trade. By strengthening the port’s facilities in container and ro-ro cargo, the port was consolidating itself in the Exim trade space.
With the port stopping coal and iron ore handling to focus on clean cargo, the berth occupancy levels have come down to 50 per cent. This has helped cut the pre-berth detention time, and instead of ships waiting in mid-sea for allocation of berths, now the port is waiting for ships to arrive!
Misra said that while many private container service operators have begun container train service operations to the port, for that to happen from Coimbatore cargo volume was crucial. He was hopeful that this could happen in a month’s time.
Trade promotion cell
He said the port will operate a trade promotion cell at the ICCI premises here on the first Monday of every month to help port users and it also planned to offer volume-based incentives.
Asked whether the development of Ennore and Karaikal ports posed a threat to the business of Chennai Port, Misra said “each port has its own strength”. He said Ennore port was “predominantly emphasising on bulk cargo” (iron ore and coal that Chennai port was getting away from). Karaikal port was a small port that was focusing on coal. Ennore was not into container traffic and Karaikal has limited container traffic, though it did not have a terminal. Only Kochi and Tuticorin ports were into container handling.
No labour issues
He said labour productivity was not an issue at Chennai port. He also expected the issues relating to the Elevated Port link road from the Chennai port to Maduravoyal be sorted out and work completed.
R.R. Balasundharam, President, ICCI, Coimbatore, and R. Rajeshkumar, President, Coimbatore Custom House and Steamer Agents’ Association, also interacted with the media.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.