The VO Chidambaranar port in Thoothukudi will get its third container terminal with a Concession Agreement signed recently between the VO Chidambaranar Port Authority and the Tuticorin International Container Terminal Private Limited (TICTPL) for conversion of Berth No 9 as a container terminal. The TICTPL is wholly-owned subsidiary of JM Baxi Ports & Logistics Limited.

Currently, two container terminals (berths 7 and 8), run separately by PSA SICAL Terminals Ltd and Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd, are operating at the port with a combined capacity to handle 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The agreement was signed by VOC Port Authority’s Chairman TK Ramachandran and Dhruv Kotak, Managing Director, JMBPL. As per agreement, the container handling facility will be developed by the concessionaire at an estimated cost of ₹434.17 crores with an annual capacity addition of 6,00,000 TEUs.

The project will be executed on Design, Built, Finance, Operate, and Transfer basis, with a construction period of 21 months and is slated to be completed by December, 2024, says a release from the Port Authority.

Ramachandran said the terminal, with a length of 370 m and draft of 14.20 m, would be able to cater to vessels upto 8,000 TEUs, thereby, facilitate attracting more investments and pave the way for the economic development of the region.

The Port Authority had floated a global tender, and JMBPL was the successful bidder with their offer of ₹1,900.44 per TEU to the port. The company has formed a Special Purpose Vehicle, namely, Tuticorin International Container Terminal Private Limited, to implement this project.

The port has an annual container handling capacity of 1.17 million TEUs. It handled 7.6 lakh TEUs in 2021-22. The port’s compounded annual growth rate in container traffic over the last five years was six per cent. The port is expected to handle 1.16 million TEUs by 2024-25 and 2 million TEUs by 2034-35.

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