CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is recasting plans for a multimodal logistics park in Chennai’s northern corridor, pivoting from a storage-led model to an integrated, end-to-end freight movement system aligned with evolving trade practices, official sources said.
At a recent review of the draft City Logistics Plan for the Chennai Metropolitan Area (5,904 sq km), officials indicated that the proposed hub near Panjetty, on the city’s outskirts, would be designed to enable direct transfer of cargo to industries, rather than function as a transit warehouse.
It also signals a structural rethink of container freight stations (CFS), with planners indicating that reliance on such facilities will diminish over time. Instead, mechanisms such as Direct Port Delivery and Direct Port Entry — allowing cargo to move directly between ports and factories — are set to be prioritised. Sources said the long-term role of CFS infrastructure would need reassessment in line with these trends.
Discussions held under the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority underscored the need to align the project with customs reforms, including the Authorised Economic Operator programme and pre-clearance systems to reduce cargo dwell time.
A parallel proposal by the Central Warehousing Corporation to develop a logistics facility along the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road is being evaluated for integration with the Panjetty hub as part of a phased rollout. Authorities also proposed an examination of Panjetty, near Ponneri, as a potential site for a new town centred around the logistics hub, sources said.
Separately, Indian Railways is expected to take up a proposal to locate a planned high-speed rail station on the Chennai-Hyderabad corridor closer to the multimodal logistics park site.