VO Chidambaranar Port facilitates direct port entry for containers

The DPE facility would enable direct movement of containers from factories, without intermediate handling at any CFS, thus facilitating the shippers to Gate-In their factory stuffed exports directly to the container terminal on 24x7 basis.

Union minister of state for shipping Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the ‘Direct Port Entry (DPE) facility’ of VO Chidambaranar Port Trust by unveiling the e-plaque.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony through video conference, Mandaviya said this is a noteworthy step towards reducing logistics cost and increasing the velocity of cargo. DPE will help in increasing ease of doing business for the exporters, as the facility will bring efficiency and reduce dwell time, lower tariff cost and improve the competitiveness of shippers in international trade.

The state-of-the-art Direct Port Entry (DPE) facility would enable direct movement of containers from factories, without intermediate handling at any CFS, thus facilitating the shippers to Gate-In their factory stuffed exports directly to the container terminal on 24x7 basis. The facility is created in an area of 18,357 sq m inside the truck parking terminal which was developed under the ‘Sagarmala’ for issuing customs clearance of export cargo, ie, factory stuffed/e-sealed containers. It can handle 18,000 TEUs per month. For the DPE facility to operate smoothly, Indian Customs through the Central Warehousing Corporation, will generate the `Let Export Order’ (LEO) under a single roof without any hassle. A dedicated team of CWC and customs officials, in association with VOC Port, will serve Tier-II, Tier-III (AEO) certified EXIM clients.

Earlier, the factory stuffed (self-sealed) containers were taken to one of the container freight stations (CFSs) / Inland Container Depot (ICD) operating in Tuticorin. The CFSs operate between 10 am and 8 pm on working days only. Because of it, there was considerable delay in admitting the self-sealed export containers into the container terminals. Hence, the port developed the DPE facility to enable export clearance of factory stuffed e-sealed containers on a 24x7 basis, resulting in faster and cost-effective export admittance. 

VOC Port entered into an MoU with the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) to operate the facility for 30 years and the customs department has also approved operating the DPE facility in the port.

Sanjeev Ranjan, secretary, ministry of shipping, in his address, said the IT enabled infrastructure at the ports will definitely make our ports ,world class, aligning the ‘Maritime Vision 2030’ of ministry of shipping.