Ennore and L&T Kattupalli ports may go the Chennai Port way and be bogged down by congestion issues if the State government fails to act swiftly to expand the five-km two-lane North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTPS) road, say stakeholders.
While the Chennai Port is suffering from congestion woes as it does not have a four-lane road at the ‘zero gate' point to accommodate export containers, Ennore and Kattupali ports rely on the two-lane NCTPS Road and the 2.5-km Port Access Road. Besides, the customers of major oil firms and those residing in and around Kattupalli villages commute on NCTPS Road to reach their destination.
According to port users, the volume of traffic from the Vallur junction to Ennore port is low and may pick up when the Ennore Port commences its container operations. And it would make sense to convert the NCTPS Road into three-lane as expansion work on the Tiruvottiyur-Ponneri-Panchetti (TPP) road is on as part of the Ennore-Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP).
Talking to The Hindu , the port users say: “It is a private road and can be expanded quickly with minimum land acquisition. However, the implementing agency may face hurdles in the form of to water pipelines and cables that have to be shifted without causing disruption in supply. If we fail to do so, then we will see huge rows of containers struck on the TPP road from Manali junction. Currently, it is a congestion-free road as the Ennore Port deals with car carriers, tanker lorries, coal and project cargoes.”
Time and again, Japanese investors have been seeking good road connectivity to the Ennore Port. The work on EMRIP on TPP road is yet to gain momentum following a delay in shifting of temples.
Incidentally, a year ago, a proposal was submitted to the State government for laying a four-lane North Port Access Road from the Ennore Port's northern gate to Panchetti near Thatchur on NH5. State Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam made an announcement in the Assembly on March 27. However, the proposal may take several months to materialise. A spokesman for the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu says it has carried out a survey to form the 21-km North Port Access Road and industrial estate.
