The Hindu Business Line : Special warehousing zone may come up at Ennore through SPV

A 300-ACRE free trade and warehousing zone is being planned at Ennore through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to be created by Ennore Port Ltd, IL&FS and MMTC Ltd, said Mr K. Suresh, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust, who holds additional charge as Chairman of Ennore Port Ltd.

"Both companies have shown keen interest in the project," he told Business Line. While it is too early to give the project cost, a feasibility study has been done on the project, which would be taken up following an approval from the Centre, he said.

The zone will be similar to the one near the Italian port of Interporto di Nola. It would have a vast assortment of products from a number of companies for users to buy, Mr Suresh said at a conference on `Building Warehousing Competitiveness: Next Gen Warehousing' organised by the CII Institute of Logistics.

The zone will offer companies customised and categorised warehouses and sophisticated freezers, and can handle all types of cargo, including break bulk, containers and dry cargo. It will have storage facilities, controlled humidity, low-cost skilled labour, a transport facility and an information technology system for cargo tracking. It would also have deferred duty benefits, he said.

Mr Suresh told Business Line that the SPV would create basic infrastructure such as roads. The project is part of the special economic zone planned by the Tamil Nadu Government, he said.

Ennore Port Ltd, the country's first corporatised port, has about 2,000 acres, and will provide 300 acres for the project. While help would be sought from planners of the Italian facility, international designers would be roped in for the project in Ennore, he said.

Located in Nola on the outskirts of Naples in Italy, the CIS (name of the facility) extends over an area of 1 million square metres (sq. m), of which 550,000 sq m are covered. Around 25 companies operate inside the CIS, with 4,000 employees and their specialisations cover over 100 different trades, excluding the foodstuff. Every day, about 20,000 customers visit the facility, generating an annual turnover of 4,000 million euros, said Mr Suresh.

"Our plan is to replicate the Italian model, and the project in Ennore would benefit both the Chennai and Ennore ports," he said.