The 100-hectare mega terminal project coming up on reclaimed land at the Chennai port, though long-awaited, is unlikely to enthuse trade, unless road connectivity between the port and highways is improved. The Rs 3,050-crore mega terminal that can hold 5 million standard-sized containers will be operations-ready in five years.

But shippers are worried that supporting infrastructure is not in place. “The road connectivity today is pathetic. If mega road connectivity projects are not taken up immediately, the port expansion plan will be meaningless,” said an industry source.

Thrust on three Cs

In five years the Chennai port will become a major container terminal hub on the east coast. By then, dusty cargoes, such as coal and iron-ore, would have moved out to the nearby Ennore, and Chennai will be left with just the three Cs — containers, cars and cruises — according to the port trust chairman, Mr K. Suresh.

PSA-Sical will start operating the second container terminal in two years. The third terminal will be India’s first deep-water terminal, with a draft of 18 metres, capable of handling ultra-large container ships of capacity 13,000-15,000 TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units), he said.

ARTERIAL Congestion

An official of a leading Custom House agent said that the annual container volume through Chennai will increase by around 15 per cent. Without an exclusive road or an elevated corridor connecting the port with the highways, the mega expansion projects will not really solve the problem for the trade.

At present, there is only one major road connecting to the port via Royapuram in North Chennai. A truck travels nearly 35 km via Ennore, Manali and Poonamallee before crossing Chennai city towards Bangalore or the southern districts.

There is always congestion in north Chennai’s arterial roads that connect the port with the highways. Things will only get worse as the vehicle population rises. A single road is used by pedestrians, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and trucks, including container-laden vehicles. There should be an exclusive road for the port for easy entry and exit of vehicles.

The ChPT chairman is, however, confident that when the mega expansion in the port is through, road connectivity projects will also happen simultaneously. Two major connectivity projects — one in north Chennai and the other an elevated corridor on the Cooum River — will be ready when the port expansion is over.

The Chennai-Ennore Port Road Connectivity project was announced in 2005 to improve the movement of cargo to and from the port. The then estimated project cost was Rs 230 crore, and it was expected to be completed in 2006. But, due to delays the cost increased to over Rs 300 crore and the project is likely to be completed by end-2008.

The road will improve connectivity of the port to the State/National Highway network. The major components of the project include shore protection work along the Ennore Coast; four-laning the Ennore Expressway; improving the Tiruvotiyur-Ponneri-Panjetti road and rehabilitation and resettlement of the project-affected families.

The other major project is the dedicated elevated expressway from southern gate of the port to Maduravoyal leading to the National Highway 4. This was proposed a couple of years back at a cost of around Rs 750 crore, and the current estimate is around Rs 850 crore, said Mr Suresh.

Third Terminal

The third terminal will come up on the north of Bharathi Dock Basin and have an alongside depth of 18 metres; continuous quay length of 2 km and back-up area of around 100 hectares. The terminal will be on a build-own-transfer basis. Breakwater construction will cost Rs 1,200 crore and reclamation of land around Rs 207 crore, and these two jobs will be taken up by the port trust.

Two new breakwaters for a total length of 4 km will be constructed — one as extension of the existing outer arm, and the other extending from the fishing harbour breakwater. The consequent silting will reclaim about 300 hectares of land. The mega terminal will be built on a 100-hectare portion of this land.

The existing channel has a depth of 19 metres. The basin will also be dredged to 18 metres depth, so that ships may come through the channel, pass into the basin and then to the wharfs. The dredged material will be used for reclamation. By 2017, the container volume through the Chennai port will increase to 50 lakh TEUs a year, from 8-lakh TEUs last year, thanks to the increased level of economic activity. The second terminal is to be operated by PSA-Sical.

Some of factors that led to the proposed mega terminal include increase in container traffic; road connectivity; improvement in rail connectivity; increasing main-line vessels; deep draft berth facilities to handle ultra large container ships (12,500 TEUs) and the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project.

Mr Suresh said the port trust will seek environment clearance from the Centre and also appoint a consultant to work on various issues, including tender specifications.