Traffic congestion in Chennai would come down substantially after the completion of the car parking facility in Tiruvottiyur, the Rajiv Gandhi Dry Port at Sriperumbudur and road projects, Union Shipping Minister G.K. Vasan said on Saturday. Besides, the construction of the Mega Container Terminus in Chennai Port would lead to increasing the port’s capacity.
“These projects are steps aimed at reducing congestion,” he said, taking to reporters here in connection with the curtain-raiser for the International Exhibition on Shipping, Ports, Marine Technology and Logistics to be held in Goa in October. He said the road linking Chennai and Ennore Ports was progressing well and would be completed as per schedule in June 2013.
“Hurdles to the 1.6-km stretch from the gate-number one in Chennai Port have been removed. We are holding talks with the local people to shift a temple in the way. I am hopeful that we will succeed in completing the project as per schedule,” he said.
Earlier, addressing the meeting, he said in a significant move to remove bottlenecks in the award of port development projects, new guidelines had been issued to streamline processing of security clearance proposals expeditiously without compromising on security aspects.
“The Ministry is also taking steps to ensure expeditious grant of environment clearance, land acquisition and litigation, he said, while disclosing that the Ministry was also working on formulating a new land policy for major ports to ensure a level playing field for all stakeholders.
Adviser to FICCI president P. Murari, Chennai Port Trust Chairman Atulya Mishra and Managing Director and CEO of Essar Ports Ltd Rajiv Agarwal were present.
