Following Nissan’s decision to use MOL Auto Logistics (India) for inland export activity from its new plant near Chennai, in India, the Mitsui OSK subsidiary has announced plans this week to enter a joint venture with Chennai-based Sical Logistics to operate a vehicle management facility at the Port of Ennore.
Sical Logistics is India’s leading provider of multi-modal integrated solutions for the logistics of bulk and containerized cargo.
A memorandum of understanding was signed this week by Takashi Kurauchi, Managing Executive Officer, Mitsui O.S.K Lines, and LR Sridhar, Managing Director, Sical Logistics, in the presence of S Velumani, Chairman and Managing Director, Port of Ennore.
The yard will manage completely built vehicles and will cater to automotive exporters/importers based in India.
The move follows an agreement between Nissan Motor India and the Port of Ennore signed last October for exports from the plant sited in Oragadam.
The new venture, which will become legal later this year, will undertake yard operations including storage and pre-shipment services for export of finished vehicles from the new plant (read more here).
Nissan will start moving vehicles from there, primarily to Europe in the second half of 2010. Exports are estimated to be around 60,000 units in the first year, which the company intends to eventually increase to 180,000 units.
The Port of Ennore is currently developing a multi-purpose berth with space of 140,000 square meters to facilitate vehicle exports. The $23m facility is expected to be ready in June, 2010, in time for the Nissan exports.
Mitsui established MOL Auto Logistics (India) at the end of last year in response to what it saw then as an overall increase in car production in the country (read more here).
