Court clears way for second Chennai terminal

The Government’s objectives were to establish the commercial feasibility of building an additional port; identify ways of addressing labour in any future concession; assess the impact Iraqi trade wouldhave within the next decade and would this develop into at least two million TEU’s per annum; identify the best method to promote private investment in the new port; and stimulate competition to improve existing port operations.

It overturned an interim injunction obtained by Chennai Container Terminal (CCT) to prevent the port trust from going out to tender for the proposed second terminal. Last year, container traffic at the port increased by 23% to 616,000 TEUs while the incumbent container terminal was hit by numerous labour problems. CCT took out the injunction arguing that a second terminal violated conditions set down in the original agreement signed between it and the port trust in August 2001, although this was not upheld by the court. CCT had been forbidden to bid for the second box concession in the port which will occupy a former iron ore berth originally promised to the company to enable its existing terminal to be extended.