Chennai port to clear out metal debris to decongest premises

CHENNAI: A huge stretch of mangled metal structures, spread over 4.38km inside the Chennai port premises are set to be dismantled and cleared, more than two years after it was ravaged by Cyclone Vardah.


It would take about six months to clear the scrap weighing 2,900 tonnes, which includes a coal conveyor and a bubble infrastructure to handle coal. The structure was installed after the Madras high court restrained the port from handling of dusty cargo such as coal and iron ore in 2012. During cyclone Vardah, the belt and the bubble structures were badly damaged and strewn along a sizeable portion of the port.

As it remained unused for several years, the port wrote to the union ministry of shipping in January 2016 to auction the conveyor belt, P Raveendran, Chennai Port Trust chairman, told TOI.

In September last year, the ministry gave its nod to clear the scrap from the port premises.

A communication from the ministry said, “The Chennai Port is allowed to auction the metal scrap, as per the powers delegated to it.” The port management has now called for tenders and the auction date has been fixed on October 30.

Generally, six months will be given to the successful bidder to remove the metal scrap from the port premises, Raveendran said. Once the metal scrap is cleared, a road will be created and an exclusive railway track along the stretch would be expanded to facilitate free movement of vehicles. Similarly, whether or not to use the railway track will be decided once the area is cleared of the metal debris.

Kerbs will be laid along the stretch and saplings will be planted, as it would help absorb dust pollution from the premises, the chairman said.

Some more area in the port premises will soon be paved with concrete to further reduce dust pollution inside, said officials.