The Kattupalli Shipyard cum Captive Port Complex is a mega shipyard project at Kattupalli village near Ennore of Chennai being built by L&T Shipbuilding Ltd. LTSB is a joint venture between L&T and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), formed to implement the integrated shipyard-cum-port project.
The container terminal will be operated and managed by the Philippines-based port operator, International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) for a 28 – year period.. This is their first project in India. Manila-based ICTSI is a port manager involved in operations and development of 23 marine terminals and port projects in 17 countries.
The first development phase is expected to be operational by January 2012 . A CFS is also planned as part of the service package. Access to the terminal on the marine side is via a 3.5 km long channel and port basin offering a draft of 14 m. Kattupalli’s North and South breakwaters (total 3.35 km) ensure a safe harbour and uninterrupted terminal operations.
The terminal will be well connected by road, upgrading the existing TPP Road expected to complete by the end of this year and the Chennai Bypass road, which connects with NH5 and NH4 (from Bangalore) has also been completed. Also, LTSB is likely to form a joint venture with Ennore port and TIDCO, to build a 25.5km road to connect Ennore and Kattupalli ports.
In terms of cargo generation, the KICT is located in close proximity to the majority of Container Freight Stations in Chennai and is eyeing a potential traffic of 2.5-3 million TEUs a year . Also the proposed Ennore special economic zone , adjacent to the terminal, is another expected source of business.
L&T is also planning a shipyard in the facility , which will be competing with Japanese and Korean shipyards in building "specialized ships" such as large-size warships, car carriers, submarines, naval offshore patrol vessels, fast patrol vessels and corvette. After Colombo and Singapore, Kattupalli will be the third major international destinations for ship repairs in the region.
