Vertical expansion ahead: Chennai Port to soon build a multi-level car parking facility

Chennai Port, one of the major automobile export gateways, will soon build a multi-level car parking facility within the port premises to meet growing demand. 

According to Chennai Port Authority, a car is exported every 80 seconds from Chennai and Kamarajar Ports and in the financial year 2025-26, Chennai Port exported 2,04,165 units of cars. Officials said, in future, the automobile export demand from the Chennai region is only going to go up and hence this project has been planned to accommodate more cars in the port premises. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 400 crore.

Chennai Port has been handling significant volumes of passenger vehicle exports for leading automobile manufacturers including Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) and Kia India. “The Port serves the Sriperumbudur automotive manufacturing cluster, which hosts some of the largest automobile manufacturing facilities in the country and functions as a key export hub for vehicles manufactured in southern India,” the request for proposal of the port states.

For the export of automobiles, Chennai Port Authority has a long-term Memorandum of Agreement (MoAs) with both these firms. Currently, the export automobiles are parked in different locations in the port which together make up 59,675 sq.metres of area. In this space, nearly 4,000-4,500 cars can be stationed. But there is a need for accommodating 8,000 cars. Owing to space constraints due to various reasons, the automobiles are parked in different areas which has resulted in longer internal driving distance to the Ro-Ro terminal (Roll-on/Roll-off terminal–a facility for loading and unloading cargo like cars), challenges in logistics among other issues.

Hence, such a facility to organise and consolidate automobile parking in one location and to house additional export volumes is crucial for the port now. “The existing land resources aren’t sufficient and horizontally, we have utilised the land to the brim. Hence vertical development is the way to go,” a source said. 

Officials said they issued the RFP to rope in a consultant who will prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the multi-level car parking project. The consultant will look at a host of aspects including technical, financial viability of the project and how the facility will enhance the operational efficiency of handling these vehicles. “The consultant may be finalised in about three months. After that, the firm will have another three months to complete the DPR,” an official said. Sources said, after this process, the project cost will have to be approved by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways after which the bids can be floated for the project.