India's first corporate port, Ennore Port Ltd and car maker Ford India Private Ltd Tuesday signed an agreement for exports of cars through the port for ten years, said union Shipping Minister G.K.Vasan.
Speaking at the agreement signing function here, Vasan said: "It (the agreement) provides for various volume based discounts on wharfage by Ennore Port ranging from 5 percent to 30 percent to encourage more exports.
He said Ennore Port has developed a general cargo-cum-car terminal at a cost of Rs.140 crore, which includes a car parking yard of 35 acres to park 10,000 cars at a time.
Vasan said a total of 449,720 vehicles have been shipped through Ennore Port till December 2013 by companies like Nissan Motor India, Ford India, Ashok Leyland, Toyota Kirloskar and Honda.
He said the Ennore Port is going to sign an agreement with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) for setting up of five million ton per annum liquefied natural gas (LNG) import storage and re-gasification terminal port at an estimated investment of Rs.4,500 crore.
IOCL has planned to commission the project by 2016-17, Vasan said.