With the Chennai Customs notifying the Container Freight Station (CFS) of the L & T Shipbuilding Ltd located inside its Kattupalli premises as ‘Customs Area’ for handling of import and export cargo, all decks have now been cleared for the port to begin its commercial operations.According to reliable sources, the launch of the port for handling containerized cargo is likely on Dec. 13 and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is expected to inaugurate the facility to the trade.
It may be noted that the port, being built by engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in association with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), was facing hurdles in getting clearances for launching the operations.
With the clearance by Chennai Customs authorities to the port for commercial operations, the multi-crore facility has become the third port in the State after Chennai and Tuticorin to handle containerized cargo.
The International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), the Philippines-based port operator, has been roped in by L&T to operate and manage (O & M) its container terminal, which has been named as Kattupalli International Container Terminal (KICT).
The terminal would be managed by ICTSI (India) Pte. Ltd., an India registered ICTSI subsidiary, in cooperation with L & T Ship Building, a joint venture between Larsen &Toubro (L & T) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO).
Though ICTSI operates 24 ports in 17 countries worldwide, Kattupalli International Container Terminal (KICT) is the company’s first project in India.
The terminal will handle containerized and project cargoes with steel and steel products as the prime commodity. It has an initial annual capacity of 1.2 million TEUs.
The terminal, located in Thiruvallur District, is strategically near the container freight stations (CFSs) of Chennai that has seen rapid growth in container traffic in the past decade.
According to EXIM traders, KICT will certainly ease congestion at Chennai Port.
Chennai Port has two container terminals – CCTL (promoted by DP World, Dubai) and CITPL (promoted by PSA, Singapore) and the port largely control the container trade in the region.
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