Tamil Nadu’s Multi-Modal Logistics Park is the first among 35 Multi-Modal Logistics Parks proposed across India.
The famed V O Chidambaranar Port (VOC Port), in Tamil Nadu, is getting a makeover for the future with efforts set in motion for the development of a Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP). A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be floated in this regard.
The proposed SPV, announced by Sarbanand Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, will have as its stakeholders the Chennai Port Authority, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (TIDCO) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The Multi-Modal Logistics Park will be developed through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the SPV providing land and connectivity. The MMLP infrastructure will be developed by a private developer.
Chennai Port Authority, TIDCO, NHAI equity partners
According to Union Minister Sonowal, all three stakeholders will be equity partners in the proposed SPV. While the equity contribution of the Chennai Port would be the cost of the land amounting to Rs 167 crore, NHAI and the NHIDCL will jointly contribution Rs l30 crore. The Tamil Nadu Government would invest Rs 50 crore through TIDCO.
The concept of a Multi-Modal Logistics Park had come up owing to the port’s advantages such as excellent rail-road connectivity, proximity to the main sea route, all-weather operational conditions, and geographic position to link the Eastern coast with the Western coast. Further, the Multi-Modal Logistics Park would facilitate infrastructure for enabling seamless multimodal freight transfer, and specialized storage solutions, such as cold storage, warehouses equipped with mechanized material handling and intermodal transfer terminals for containers, bulk and break-bulk cargo, said a source.
Multi-Modal Logistics Park Offers advantages galore
Value-added services such as customs clearance, bonded storage yards, quarantine zones, testing facilities, warehousing management services, post-manufacturing activities such as kitting and final assembly, grading, sorting, labelling, packaging and more would be among the other advantages that the proposed Multi-Modal Logistics Park would offer.
The Multi-Modal Logistics Park in Tamil Nadu will be the first among the 35 such MMLPs being lined up for construction under the Union Government’s Bharatmala Mission across India. The need for ushering inefficient logistics services at reduced costs was the trigger for the government to plan for such an initiative. The MMLPs that are to come across the country’s various destinations will NHAI/ NHIDCL under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have been assigned the task of developing MMLPs.
As part of developing a dry port, the Chennai Port Authority had already acquired 121.74 acres of land on a 99-year lease basis from the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT). This land was chosen for the dry port as it was strategically located near the major automobile industrial area at Sriperumbudur. The MMLP is likely to come upon 121.74 acres of land. Besides, TIDCO will acquire 36.23 acres more on investment provided by the state government.
Feature image used only for representational purposes.
