Government plans Rs 5000-crore mega port in Tamil Nadu to reduce dependence on Colombo, Singapore ports

To reduce India's dependence on Colombo and Singapore ports for handling cargo traffic, the Narendra Modi government is planning to build a mega transhipment hub at a cost of over Rs 5,000 crore, Indian Economic Times, reported. The transhipment hub is expected to come up near Tuticorin inTamil Nadu around the international trading route. Currently, Colombo and Singapore ports handle most of the container movement as Indian ports cannot handle larger vessels. India has also been wary of China's growing influence at the Colombo port. "We need to cut dependence of east coast cargo on Colombo by building a container port near the international shipping route. This would also benefit Indian traders as their cost would come down. The smaller feeder vessels will bring container cargo, which then will be loaded onto larger ships," a senior government official was quoted as saying. The new container handling facility will not only reduce the logistics cost by around 10% but will also bring down the travel time substantially. The capacity of the terminal is expected to be over 1 million twenty equivalent unit (TEUs), which will be increased four times in phases in coming years as more berths would be added.