After 18 years and two attempts, Chennai Port Authority once again plans development of outer harbour project

The Chennai Port Authority is set to revive its long-pending Outer Harbor development project, driven by the accelerating pace of industrial growth in Tamil Nadu and neighboring states. A new financial feasibility study is scheduled to begin shortly, aiming to evaluate the feasibility of the ambitious project.

Originally proposed in 2007, the plan was to develop a mega container terminal at North Bharathi Dock. The project featured a 2 km quay length with a capacity of 4 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (MTEUs), to be executed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model at an estimated cost of ₹3,000 crore. A technical feasibility study was carried out by IIT-Madras. However, due to the global economic recession and poor investor response, the project stalled.

In 2013, the project was restructured and rebranded as the Outer Harbor Project for Multipurpose Cargo Handling, with the estimated cost revised to ₹5,100 crore. Despite a new round of bidding in 2014 following another financial feasibility study, the project failed to attract investors and was subsequently shelved.

The port authority is now taking a renewed look at the project in 2025, considering the increasing traffic of larger, deep-draft vessels, growing transshipment demands, and the rapid industrial development in the region. If the long-delayed Chennai Port–Maduravoyal elevated corridor is completed soon, it is expected to significantly enhance cargo movement, making capacity expansion a top priority.