By G Saravanan
CHENNAI: Despite the recent blow to the much-needed Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP) in North Chennai for better shipping trade, Chennai Port Trust chairman Capt Subhash Kumar on Tuesday vowed that the project would be revived in another two months.
Ever since the tendering process for EMPRIP was cancelled recently due to the unsettled financial problems, there were apprehensions about the future of the project among the traders and the local people living in the (project) area and bearing the brunt of badly maintained roads as well as the choking traffic of goods-laden container trailers everyday.
Allaying fears about the future of the project, Capt Subhash said, “Since we understand that any development to the port would not come until we assure better road and rail connectivity up to the berths, EMRIP would not be let down so simply as its failure would largely affect the growth of the historic Chennai Port.”
EMRIP was conceptualised in 1998 for widening and improvement of roads at a cost of Rs 160 crore. It covers four major roads in the industrial hub of north Chennai — Thiruvotriyur- Ponneri-Panchetti Road, Ennore Expressway, Manali Oil Refinery Road and northern portion of the Inner Ring Road from Madhavaram to Manali. But, there was no development on the project until 2003.
In June 2003, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) was formed wherein Chennai Port Trust was one of the partners and was called Chennai-Ennore Port Road Company Limited, along with National Highways Authority of India and the State and the project cost was escalated to Rs 309 crore.
Since the project failed to take off, its cost again revised and now it is understood to have escalated to around Rs 650 crore from Rs 309 crore earmarked in 2003.
Denying the charge that ChPT is fully responsible for the delay of the all important road improvement project, Capt Subhash said, “When the project was finalised at Rs 160 crore several years ago, the Trust had paid its share of Rs 38 crore, but it is illogical to say we are fully responsible for the delay.”
Nationwide dock strike from Jan
As the bipartite wage negotiations for revision of wage structure and liberalisation of service conditions of port and dock workers at all major ports of the country failed, the five recognised federations met in New Delhi on Tuesday and unanimously decided to begin an indefinite strike on January 4. G M Krishnamurthy, general secretary of the Madras Port Trust Employees’ Union, said even after three years, no settlement could be reached on wages and service conditions.
Taking into account the present economic situation, Indian Ports Association would concede to the legitimate demands of port and dock workers to prevent the strike.
In June 2003, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) was formed wherein Chennai Port Trust was one of the partners and was called Chennai-Ennore Port Road Company Limited, along with National Highways Authority of India and the State and the project cost was escalated to Rs 309 crore.
Since the project failed to take off, its cost again revised and now it is understood to have escalated to around Rs 650 crore from Rs 309 crore earmarked in 2003.
Denying the charge that ChPT is fully responsible for the delay of the all important road improvement project, Capt Subhash said, “When the project was finalised at Rs 160 crore several years ago, the Trust had paid its share of Rs 38 crore, but it is illogical to say we are fully responsible for the delay.”
Nationwide dock strike from Jan
As the bipartite wage negotiations for revision of wage structure and liberalisation of service conditions of port and dock workers at all major ports of the country failed, the five recognised federations met in New Delhi on Tuesday and unanimously decided to begin an indefinite strike on January 4. G M Krishnamurthy, general secretary of the Madras Port Trust Employees’ Union, said even after three years, no settlement could be reached on wages and service conditions.
Taking into account the present economic situation, Indian Ports Association would concede to the legitimate demands of port and dock workers to prevent the strike.
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