Beginning Friday, exporters will start using Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) as an alternative gateway to move their goods to various destinations. This arrangement is aimed at preventing traffic congestion at Chennai Port.
It normally takes three to four days for container-laden vehicles to enter Chennai Port Trust after clearances at various Container Freight Stations in the city.
Several strategies had earlier been tried out unsuccessfully to ease traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road and Ennore Manali Road. Following this, officials of Kamarajar and Chennai ports decided to use the marine highway to move the containers.
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KPL will be spending Rs. 20 crore for straightening, strengthening and deepening the creek for better flow of water from port to sea. The project has been awarded to an agency, which will start the work after getting permission from the authorities concerned.
To meet its future needs, KPL purchased 651 acres from the Salt department for nearly Rs. 500 crore. The land will be used for constructing an open stockyard, truck parking yard, warehouses, liquid cargo storage terminal and a free trade warehousing zone. However, trouble started when a group of environmentalists started accusing the Port of dumping materials in Ennore creek and Buckingham Canal.
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Talking to The Hindu , a KPL official, said: “No cultivation has been carried out for nearly two decades on the land we bought. Moreover, it has been classified as industries and hazardous zone by CMDA. There are no big waterbodies or huge mangroves, except for a small area. We have also constructed a bund to protect the creek.”
Refuting the claim that KPL was dumping ashes in the creek, the official said the ashes were not generated by the Port. They always took proper approval and followed instructions with regard to construction.
Adding that no industrial or manufacturing activity or generation of effluents would take place in the land, he invited environmentalists to advise them on the development of the port.