To ensure better coordination between various departments and Ministries for implementing major infrastructure projects, a new portal ‘Gati Shakti’ has been launched. Speaking about how this will benefit the Chennai port, Chairman Sunil Paliwal said, “Take for instance, the connectivity to the port through the elevated corridor; since this will involve the Ministry of Defence, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Chennai Port Trust and the State government, the coordination will be better since the details of this project will be input in this portal, and the other departments will know what we are planning.”
Similarly, the Ministry of Shipping and Waterways and the Government of India have been trying to give impetus to coastal movement of cargo from road and rail to shipping. “So, we have to provide these details in the portal. It will be in the radar of the railways too because we need their help for overhead lines, telecom and signalling work,” he said.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed to develop a multi-modal logistic park at Mappedu, Tiruvallur, which will serve as a logistic aggregation and disaggregation point for cargo, and this will have rail and road connectivity. With a huge warehousing and cold storage facility, the park will facilitate cross-docking, custom clearance, testing facilities documentation, weighbridges and have a container stack yard, Mr. Paliwal said.
A special purpose vehicle will be created by the Chennai Port Trust, NHAI and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. While the port will provide 121.74 acres, an additional 36.23 acres will be acquired by the NHAI. They will bear the cost of the road connectivity project.
