DP World unveils Chennai's free trade zone

Ranjit Ray, Vice President  Economic Zones, Middle East, North Africa, and Subcontinent, mentioned that the Chennai facility marked the company?s second FTWZ in India, following the one in Mumbai, which had been operational for 18 months. He informed the media present at the Manali facility that the third FTWZ, situated within the Kochi Port container terminal and operated by DP World, would soon be operational.

Ray noted that prior to the onset of the Covid pandemic, the company had announced an investment of about Rs 17 billion for the construction of three FTWZs in India in phases. He stated that approximately 45 per cent of the capital expenditure had been utilized. Upon full completion in 3-4 years, the facilities would offer approximately 4 million sq ft of warehouse space.

The Chennai unit, spanning 125 acres with 2 million sq ft of warehouse space, was cited as the largest among the three. In comparison, the Mumbai unit covered 85 acres (also 2 million sq ft), while the Kochi unit occupied 10 acres (0.2 million sq ft), according to Ray.

He highlighted the strategic location of the Chennai facility within a 40-km radius of major ports including Kattupalli (~15 km), Ennore (~11 km), and Chennai (~27 km). Ray projected that the current occupancy, standing at around 10 per cent, would rise to approximately 70 per cent by the end of the fiscal year. He praised Tamil Nadu as one of the prime states for housing FTWZs.

Regarding services, Ray mentioned that the facility offered value-added services such as packing and labelling.

He also detailed the capacity of the four warehouses at the Chennai facility, collectively accommodating 17,000 pallet positions to handle specialised and irregularly shaped cargo. Ray emphasised that the warehouses were equipped with temperature control systems, maintaining cargo storage at 2 degrees Celsius.