Ennore Port to export three lakh cars in next two years

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Ennore Port is expected to export three lakh units of cars in the next two years, according to port chairman and managing director S P Velumani.

Talking to Express on the sidelines of Renault India starting the shipment of first batch of its popular sports utility vehicle Duster from Ennore Port, he said firms like Toyota, Renault, Nissan and Ford are likely to export three lakh units from the Ennore port in the next 18 to 24 months, which is the full capacity of the port.

Velumani, who will retire on Friday, said last year the port handled 1.04 lakh cars and this year it is expected to export 1.60 lakh cars.

He said Nissan is currently exporting 80,000 units and has plans to export 1.20 lakh units this year. By next year the company is likely to increase its exports to 1.80 lakh vehicles. He said that Toyota has currently promised to export 30,000 cars and is expected to increase it to 80,000 units.

He also said that Ennore Port will be reviving its dream of setting up the biggest container terminal by updating the project report. The 1,407 crore project could not take off as Bay of Bengal Gateway Terminal, the consortium that won the bid for the Rs 1,300-crore project, forfeited the concession due to delay in getting debt funding.

“There will be some changes in the scope of the project and the estimates of the project is also likely to go up to Rs 1,600 crore. “We will also review to increase the capacity by 10 to 15 per cent,” he said.

The new project study will be sent to the Shipping Ministry. He said that few companies including DP World have shown interest in the revised project.