MCCI, State officials to identify TN’s next port

Officials of the state government and Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) will meet here on February 23 to identify and develop the next coastal port in Tamil Nadu, said Udayabhaskar Reddy, chairman, logistics committee of MCCI here on Friday. 

Speaking at the roadshow to support the three-day Maritime India Summit 2016 to be held in Mumbai in April, Reddy said, “We have been asked to identify the next port in coastal TN. We met with the state government officials. 

The next meeting will be held on February 23 in the city.” B Krishna Moorthy, deputy secretary, Union Shipping Ministry, said the ministry has sent a circular to the union cabinet for establishing the proposed transshipment hub at Colachel. 

“About 75% of our cargo is sent through Klang (Malaysia), Singapore and Colombo,” Krishna Moorthy said, pointing out that an estimated Rs 1,500 crore loss was sustained by port industries alone owing to the absence of a transshipment here. 

According to the deputy secretary of shipping ministry, the Colachel transshipment hub requires an estimated Rs 15,000 crore.