The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure on Tuesday approved the proposal for construction of a Mega Container Terminal at Chennai Port involving an investment of Rs. 3,686 crore, said Union Minister of Shipping, G.K. Vasan from New Delhi.
The new terminal will change the face of the port. The earlier proposal of ‘dirty' cargo (coal and minerals) being shifted to the Ennore port will be taken up again.
With the proposal to begin construction of the elevated highway in process now – connecting the port, touching all National Highways and terminating on the outskirts of the city – cargo vehicles will have unhindered access to the port round-the-clock. Both the elevated highway and the new container port would be completed around the same time.
PPP MODE
According to Mr. Vasan the project would be developed under the Public Private Partnership mode and implemented on the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis.
The investment by the concessionaire would be Rs.3,125 crore and Chennai Port would invest Rs.561 crore. The Mega Container Terminal would have the capacity to handle 4 million TEUs per annum.
There has been sharp growth in container volume at Chennai Port in the recent years.
At present, there are two container terminals with a capacity of 2 million TEUs.
The terminal will be able to handle ultra large container vessels and deep draft vessels. It will enable Chennai Port to compete with international ports and reduce the need for trans-shipment from Singapore and Colombo. It will boost import and export from the region.
The first phase of the project will be completed by 2013 and the project will be completed by 2017.
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