According to Sunil Paliwal, the chairperson of the Chennai Port Authority (ChPA), the outer harbour project at Chennai Port would cost approximately ₹8,000 crore. For the project, a technological feasibility assessment will be conducted. The government is considering reclaiming the nearly 200 acres behind the container berth, which would be 2 km long. Therefore, we are always working to enhance our offerings,” he stated.
Paliwal stated that “the first phase of the country’s first green field MMLP will be ready by April mid-2026” in reference to the multi-modal logistics park (MMLP) at Mappedu. After first proposing the outer harbour concept eighteen years ago, the ChPA is now renewing it for the third time. To accommodate larger container boats, a plan to “Develop a Mega Container Terminal at North of Bharathi Dock” with a 2 km quay length and a 4 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit capacity was put forth in 2007 in the PPP mode on a DBFOT basis. Due to the recession, there was a low response to the invitation to tender and a low revenue share offered. The tender was cancelled.
At an anticipated cost of ₹5,100 crore, the project was reorganized in 2013 as the “Development of Outer Harbour Project at Chennai Port” to handle multipurpose cargo (clean cargo only). In 2014, bids were requested, but no prospective bidders responded. As a result, the plan was abandoned.
