Suzuki, Nissan get Kandla services

Suzuki and Nissan can export cars via Kandla port.

BY OUR AUTO CORRESPONDENT
November 28, 2006

Destination Gujarat. From there, head for the world. Suzuki and Nissan have their itinerary set with the Union government offering Kandla port to the carmakers for exports. 

Suzuki and Nissan had wanted port facilities for exporting their products from the Gurgaon-based manufacturing plant. It is expected that 1,000 trailers would be rolling out from the Gurgaon manufacturing plant everyday. With Kandla gained, the companies are mulling over possibilities of having exclusive port facilities at Hazira and Pipavav ports in Gujarat. 

The government went ahead and offered Kandla port facilities to Suzuki-Nissan after finding that they had adequate space for their requirements. Meanwhile, the Gujarat Maritime board has also suggested the private ports of Pipavav and Hazira for their requirements, said reports. 

However, the government has said no to the move to offer Mumbai port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) saying that the space constraints would be a problem. 

With this decision, the government is now awaiting further communication from Suzuki-Nissan. A number of technical issues arise in selection of ports for exporting automobiles, and the companies are still evaluating the ports. Suzuki and Nissan had requested the government for better port and road infrastructure for automobile exports from their Gurgaon plant.