Marg Karikal Terminal Operator

Karaikal Port Private Ltd (KPPL) is a subsidiary of MARG Ltd, a leading infrastructure and real estate developer along the Chennai IT corridor with interest ranging across various areas that include Residential Projects, Commercial Real estate projects, SEZs, Ports, Townships, IT Parks, Malls, etc.

The Government of Puducherry (GoP) sought participation of Private Sector in the development and operation of the Karaikal deep-water port project; concession for which was awarded to MARG Ltd. through a tendering process on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis. Concession Agreement between GoP & MARG Limited was executed on January 25, 2006. MARG Ltd. incorporated a Special Purpose Company - Karaikal Port Private Limited - for implementation and operation of the Project.

Karaikal Port is envisaged to have a total of 9 berths capable of handling over 50 MTPA by 2016. The port is envisioned to be developed in 3 phases with the final phase getting operational in 2016. Phase - I of development, which was completed in April 2009, comprises two Panamax size general cargo berths. The Port hosts various other infrastructure facilities such as covered warehousing, open storage and Mobile Harbour Cranes. The Port has excellent evacuation facilities with 3 railway sidings and National Highways within a Kilometer from the gate. An area of around 602 acres is covered by the Port boundaries. The objective of Karaikal Port is to serve as a congestion-free port that will enable efficient transportation of goods. This will be done through advanced cargo handling equipment, sufficient and damage free warehousing facilities, faster turnaround of vessels (due to mechanization of all activities) and smooth evacuation of cargo with the help of advanced, competitive logistics support. The e-port model will encourage transparent paper-free transactions at a single window.

The vision behind the port is to create a gateway to central Tamil Nadu, a strategic location where a major chunk of the state’s industrial belt is located. This gateway will catalyze rapid growth in central Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The total investment of the project, for all three phases, is envisaged to be around INR 4000 Crores. The port will be able to provide employment to over 10000 people directly & indirectly. In keeping with MARG Group’s vision of Regional Development, Karaikal Port is also encouraging the industrial growth and all-round development of the region. The region around the port is envisaged to attract more than USD 10 billion of investments in various industries in the next decade.

Given the planned and existing efforts towards infrastructure development of Karaikal coupled with its healthy business and political environment, location advantage and envisaged state-of-the-art facilities, Karaikal port is poised to be the most strategic and efficient port on the Eastern coast of India that will unleash the economic potential of central Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.