Handling of dusty cargoes to stay, for now: Chennai Port Trust chairman

Published Date: 16-July-2009

G Saravanan

Chennai, July 15: IN a significant departure from his predecessor’s revenue plans, the new chairman of Chennai Port Trust Capt Subhash Kumar has said that the port will continue handling of iron ore and coal cargoes as shifting it to neighbouring Ennore Port would affect the port’s sustained revenue in coming years.

In an exclusive interview to The New Indian Express after taking over the chairmanship of the 126-year-old Chennai Port, Capt Subhash Kumar said: “Moving such cargoes would only help the port to attain the ‘Clean Port in India’ tag, but compensating the revenue losses due to such shift would be very difficult and it would have an adverse impact on the port’s future development plans.”

The previous Chairman K Suresh had on several occasions said that handling of such cargoes would be reduced gradually and shifted to the adjacent Ennore Port by 2013. Prior to the elevation for the coveted post, Capt Kumar has been the Deputy Chairman of ChPT since November 2008.

He has worked with Cochin Port Trust, the Shipping Corporation of India Ltd, New Mangalore Port Trust and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, and boasts in-depth knowledge about the sector.While not completely ruling out shifting dusty cargoes to Ennore Port in near future, Capt. Kumar said, “Our immediate and main focus is to develop the South India’s prime port as a Hub Port for container traffic to the ports situated in east coast of America and Far East.

If the port trust feel the areas now used for handling dusty cargoes area really needed for container-related expansion, we would certainly think about shifting those cargoes.” However, the proposed shifting is unlikely to happen by 2013, since economic recession has affected the port’s revenue and we do not want to lose the existing stream of revenue, Capt Kumar noted.

When his attention was drawn towards the pollution and environmental issues due to continuous handling of dusty cargoes, Capt Kumar said: “From the first day onwards as chairman here, I introduced several drastic measures to reduce pollution inside the port and as a result, it has been reduced to a certain level.”The port has water sprinkler systems to reduce dust pollution near the dumping yards, but the method of releasing just waters was not that effective.

Capt Kumar introduced slightly modified sprinklers where the system would spray moistures in the air and with the help of it, coal and iron ore dusts would be made to ground, hence the whole area will look clean. About existing trailer traffic congestion, Capt. Kumar said, “Any port expansion plan, including the envisaged major Hub Port will be meaningless until we assure better road and rail connectivity up to the berths of the port.” “The road connectivity today is pathetic.

If mega road connectivity projects like Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project and the four-lane elevated expressway from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal are not completed on warfooting, the port would tend to lose its existing business,” he added. Besides, he also plans to introduce several administrative changes in the port.