DP World has announced the launch of operations at Integrated Chennai Business Park. The company’s free trade warehouse zone (FTWZ) at Manali, about 30 km north of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, marks the company’s second FTWZ in India after Mumbai, which is 18 months old. 

Of the total investment of about Rs 1,700 crore to build three FTWZs in India in phases, nearly 45 percent of the capex has been spent. Once the facilities are fully ready in 3-4 years, it would offer about four million sq. ft. of warehouse space. The third facility, inside the Kochi Port container terminal, which is operated by DP World, will be ready soon.

The unit in Chennai is the largest of the three, at 125 acres and two million sq. ft. of warehouse space, whereas in Mumbai it is 85 acres (also two million sq. ft.) and in Kochi 10 acres (0.2 million sq. ft). The Chennai facility is located within a 40-km radius of key ports including Kattupalli (approx.15 km), Ennore (nearly 11 km), and Chennai (of 27 km). The current occupancy of around 10 percent is expected to increase to around 70 percent by the end of the financial year.

Value-added services like packing and labelling can be done at the facility. The four warehouses at the Chennai facility can collectively accommodate 17,000 pallet positions, to handle specialised and uneven shaped cargo. The warehouses are temperature-controlled for cargo storage.