May 3, 2008 Gujarat Emerging as
Export Hub
for Auto Majors By
P.S. Anantharaman
Ahmedabad
Gujarat is poised to become a major auto export hub in the country
with several vehicle manufacturers coming to the state to invest in
its ports to set up automobile-handling terminals.
The Mundra port, developed by the Mundra Port and Special Economic
Zone (MPSEZ), will have a car export terminal operational by the
first quarter of 2009, a top official of the company, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, told IANS.
The terminal, exclusively for Maruti Suzuki India cars, is being
built at an investment of Rs.1 billion ($25 million), said Sandeep
Mehta, chief executive of the port.
This will be India's first dedicated car export terminal, he added.
The terminal will be able to handle 250,000 units of Maruti cars a
year. The capacity would be raised by an additional 400,000 units by
2010, Mehta said.
According to officials, Maruti Suzuki currently exports close to
40,000 cars from India and is keen on increasing exports five-fold
to 200,000 in two years. A bulk of it will be handled through Mundra.
Currently, Mumbai and Chennai are the major ports that handle auto
exports. Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland and Eicher Motors
depend on the Mumbai facilities, owing to the proximity to their
production centres.
Hyundai and Ford, thanks to their south Indian manufacturing
facilities, export cars through Chennai Port.
Mitsubishi Motors is another global major which is looking for port
facilities on the west coast. The company is considering locations
like Vansi Borsi Port and Maroli Port in Gujarat to set up a
car-handling terminal, sources said.
The sources added that Mitsubishi was also exploring options for
setting up exclusive terminals at existing ports like Mundra,
Pipavav, Okha or Kandla.
The company is hoping that its proposed terminal could be linked to
the north-south dedicated rail freight corridor, to facilitate
movement of cars by rail.
With automotive exports from the country rapidly growing, India's
ports are naturally looking to build dedicated terminals for ships
that ferry cars and roll-on roll-off vessels.
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