Parking Plaza at Chennai Port takes off in full swing

The operations of Parking Plaza at Chennai Port are in full swing and the facility now witnesses nearly 700 vehicles a day.

The trailer owners opposed the fee imposed on using the facility and after Chennai Port Authority has done away with levying of fee, many are coming forward to use it, officials said.

Aimed at reducing the congestion on the road leading to the Port and to offer parking facilities for empty and loaded trucks or trailers, Chennai Port Authority completed the construction of the plaza early this year.

Built over 84,000 sq.mts at Rs 45 crore, the parking plaza also has canteen, toilets and dormitory for the trailer drivers. While full-fledged operations took off in March, the trailer operators were unhappy with the fees fixed by the authority to use the facility and decided to go on strike. Following this, after a few rounds of negotiations with the trailer operators, the Port Authority decided to do away with collecting the parking fee for the plaza from trailer owners. “Now it will be collected from the exporter or importer,” said an official.

According to officials, they have changed the model of operations and maintenance to make it possible. “Mainly, the congestion along the road has lessened following the opening of the plaza as the vehicles head to the plaza to park the vehicles. This is also beneficial for the drivers as it saves fuel for them. Instead of stopping multiple times along the way on the approach road which leads to them starting and stopping the vehicles often leading to higher fuel consumption, this arrangement to park at the plaza helps,” an official said.

There is a growth of nearly 20 percent in the container traffic, and this is likely to see a sustained uptick in the near future. “Considering future growth in mind, we have to ensure that there is no congestion,” the official added.

The turnaround time for the vehicles too have come down to an extent now and it will decrease further when a few other issues are ironed out, officials said.