Kamarajar Port eyes Rs 9,286 crore investment
While the private sector would pump in Rs 7,716-crore investment, the port itself would invest around Rs 1,570-crore for executing the proposed projects
 "Kamarajar Port eyes Rs 9,286 crore investment")
While the private sector would pump in Rs 7,716-crore investment, the port itself would invest around Rs 1,570-crore for executing the proposed projects.
MA Bhaskarchar, chairman and managing director of the port, said the proposed investment would increase the port's total cargo handling capacity around four-fold to 110 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in the next three years, up from the current 30 mtpa.
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The port is located around 50 km from here, and mainly handles automobile, coal and liquid cargoes. The proposed investment would go into dredging, setting up new berths for handling automobile and multi-cargo, coal terminals, LNG handling facility among others.
Bhaskarchar said the port was planning to create a new berth for handling an additional 300,000 cars per annum, as against the existing equivalent capacity.
Some of the automotive majors utilising the port's facilities include Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Ashok Leyland and Daimler.
KPL is also contemplating starting a coastal service for the automotive industry to connect the south and northern parts of the country.
The port is planning to add two more coal berths with a capacity to handle nine million tonnes, with an investment of around Rs 250 crore into each of them.
He said the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was expected to begin works by July for constructing its Rs 4,000-crore LNG terminal.
He added Adani Group's Rs 1,270-crore container terminal would commence its phase-I by January next year. Total capacity of the terminal would be 1.2-million twenty foot equivalent (TEU), of which, 0.8 million TEU would be ready in the phase-I.
The port has set aside 650 acres to the automobile ecosystem, which could be utilised to set up value-added services, including painting, washing, storage among others.