| Work Detail |
Twelve years after its conception, India’s first Multimodal Logistics Park at Mappedu near Chennai is set to begin construction in June, spearheaded by Reliance Industries. In 2022, Reliance won the Rs. 1,424 crore bid for the project, securing 184.27 acres of land in Tiruvallur district, edging out Adani Group.
The logistics park aims to offer efficient, cost-effective, and value-added logistics services such as cargo aggregation and disaggregation, distribution, intermodal transfer, sorting, packing, and repacking. Initially, the project faced delays due to connectivity issues and a lack of private sector interest.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on May 26, 2022, after the Centre awarded the contract to Reliance. However, construction was delayed due to local road access issues, which have now been resolved, allowing work to commence in June.
The project stems from a Memorandum of Understanding signed in October 2021 among the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, National Highways Logistics Management Limited, and the Chennai Port Trust. Situated 52 km from Chennai Port, 80 km from Ennore Port, and 87 km from Kattupalli Port, the logistics park is poised to become a crucial logistics hub for the southern region. It is projected to handle approximately 7.17 million tonnes of cargo over 45 years.
A pre-feasibility report indicates the park will serve secondary market clusters in Ranipet, Ambur, Tirupur, and Bengaluru, areas known for industries such as leather, heavy machinery parts, automobiles, cement, sugar, and chemicals. Additionally, it is strategically located near the automobile and electronics manufacturing clusters along the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam industrial belt and the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road.
The projects success, however, hinges on establishing rail connectivity from Mappedu to the ports, according to sources. |
