Port gateway cargo plan in doubt without warehouses

T'puram: The Vizhinjam port must be gearing up to move containers by road, but warehouses and logistics facilities are yet to be built near the facility, though many investors have bought land for the purpose in a 5 sq km area. Investors have not started construction as there is uncertainty over the kind of business they will attract.Sources said most of the land suitable for warehouses and also the parcels of land that have potential for future commercial development have already been bought but are lying unused. There will be a huge demand for warehouses in the vicinity of the port because it will be cheaper to store the containers than keeping them at the port when gateway container movement starts."People have bought land of different sizes, one acre to 20cents, around the port. They are waiting for the port to start gateway cargo so that they will know how much business they will receive," said a real estate developer. Warehouses are needed to store containers before they are moved by trucks to other parts of the country and to process and repackage materials for transhipment by road. Now, investors have only a projection of the cargo movement from the port. It is estimated that 30% of the total containers will be gateway cargo, while the rest will be ship-to-ship transhipment.State govt is pushing for development of a logistics park too. However, they are not able to acquire land. There is also a move to hire land and give it on lease to the operators. The traders feel that the new govt will take steps to encourage private firms to set up logistics facilities. An official of the port said the gateway cargo operation will start soon after getting a final nod from the customs. "All formalities are over. It may start soon after the new govt takes over," he added. Though the cloverleaf grade separator that will connect the port to the highway will take time, a temporary connection to the highway along an approach road is being done. Nevertheless, industry insiders say that better connectivity to the highway is needed because the container trucks will be huge to negotiate the gradient and sharp curves. It is estimated that containers or cargo meant for southern districts of Tamil Nadu may be handled initially, while moving containers to Kochi and Mangalore may take time. The port has handled 890 ships and 18.58 lakh containers so far. Work is on to expand the berths to anchor more ships.
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