Cabinet okays setting up major port at Enayam in Tamil Nadu

An SPV will be formed for development of Colachel port with initial equity from the three existing major ports in the state

The Cabinet today approved setting up a major port at Enayam near Colachel in Tamil Nadu. This would be the country's 13th major port.

India has 12 major ports -- Kandla, Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) -- which handle approximately 61 per cent of the country's total cargo traffic.

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be formed for development of Colachel port with initial equity investment from the three existing major ports in Tamil Nadu -- V O Chidambaranar Port Trust, Chennai Port Trust, and Kamarajar Port Limited.

The SPV will develop the port infrastructure including dredging and reclamation, construction of breakwater, ensuring connectivity links etc, an official statement said.

Fishermen in the coastal villages of Tamil Nadu have been opposing construction of this port fearing sea erosion that could lead to loss of their livelihood.

At present, there are only a few ports in India that have sufficient draft and can match global cargo handling efficiencies. Currently, all of India's trans-shipment (transfer of shipment from one carrier to another during transit) traffic gets handled in Colombo, Singapore and other international ports. Indian port industry loses out upto Rs 1,500 crore of revenues each year, the official statement said.

This major port at Enayam will act as a major gateway container port for Indian cargo that is presently trans-shipped outside the country. It would also reduce the logistics cost for exporters and importers in South India who currently depend on trans-shipment in Colombo or other ports thus incurring additional port handling charges.

Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari, in April, had said that the government plans to add eight major ports in the country including Wadhawan in Maharashtra, Sagar in West Bengal and Colachel in Tamil Nadu.