The Cuddalore port will be developed by Mahathi Cuddalore Port and Maritime Pvt Ltd. In the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat. For the operation of the Cuddalore minor port, an agreement was made between the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board and the special purpose vehicle (SPV) Mahathi Cuddalore Port and Maritime Pvt. Ltd.
In February, private entities were asked to express interest in operating the port by the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board. Mahathi Infra Services Pvt. Ltd. (MISPL), a Hyderabad-based company, was chosen to run the business and established an SPV. Due to ongoing silting, the Cuddalore port was closed and rebuilt at a cost of ₹160 crore, which included dredging the approach channel to about 9 meters, building wharves 1 and 2 (240 meters long), and extending the North and South breakwaters.
On the Bay of Bengal, it is an intermediate anchorage harbor located where the Uppanar and Paravanar rivers converge. At low tide, the depth at the port entrance is roughly 2.5 meters, and along the wharf, it is 3–4 meters. The project has been awarded to the corporation for 40 years under the private-public partnership model, according to TN Venkatesh, Vice Chairman & CEO, TNMB. on the first two years, the company will invest close to ₹200 crore on infrastructure development. It will pay the Board $32 per tonne and handle at least 3 lakh tonnes annually. The business will deal with products that are based on chemicals.
