Tamil Nadu launches its entry into global manufacturing

Tamil Nadu is gearing to become a global manufacturing hub taking advantage of its coastline measuring 1,076 km. So far, it has 17 ports, and microminiature expansion works on these ports have been accelerated following the commissioning of the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor.

The Tamil Nadu Maritime Board (TNMB) is building a greenfield port at Cuddalore under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model involving an investment of ₹4,000 crore. The port will have 25 berths along a 3.6 km seafront and will handle 40 million tonnes of cargo annually. It will be the second port constructred by the TNMB, a decade after the Kattupalli port, 30 km north of Chennai. Other minor ports like Nagapattinam, Udangudi and Rameswaram are also being considered for development for regional growth, according to M. Vallalar, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Tamil Nadu Maritime Board. There are huge potential volumes of imports and exports that would have otherwise been handled by the state's three major ports and Kattupalli because of port capacity expansion.

Coastal shipping promises huge savings in its transportation cost, for instance, annual requirements of Tamil Nadu for 120 lakh bales of cotton (170 kg each) from Gujarat and Maharashtra, which could save about ₹1,500-2,000 a tonne in transportation cost through sailing. The state is also exploring avenues to develop a deep-seaport in southern Tamil Nadu with ports in Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts being considered for such a project.