Kamarajar Port at Ennore, about 20 km north of Chennai Port, handled 49.08 million tonnes of cargo in 2025-26, up 1.39% on the year before, according to the shipping ministry’s annual table. It is growing faster than its older neighbour this year: April to July 2026 traffic was 17.26 million tonnes, 9.03% above the same period of 2025, while Chennai Port fell 5.76% (ministry advance estimates).
The port is unusual among India’s major ports. It is run as a company, Kamarajar Port Limited, and its 2024-25 annual report describes it as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chennai Port Authority. It is also the busiest coal gateway on the Chennai coast, which is central to both its business case and the environmental questions raised about it.
How it began
The port’s corporate page sets out the timeline. It was declared a major port in March 1999 and incorporated in October 1999 as Ennore Port Limited. It was commissioned on 1 February 2001, and commercial operations began on 22 June 2001 with thermal coal unloaded from Handymax vessels. The company was later renamed Kamarajar Port Limited. It calls itself the first, and so far only, corporatised major port, and press reports of its silver jubilee events describe it as India’s 12th major port.
What it handles
Coal dominates. The 2024-25 annual report breaks down the 48.41 million tonnes handled that year by terminal:
| Terminal | 2024-25 (million tonnes) | 2023-24 (million tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Coal berths 1 and 2 plus common user coal terminal | 25.58 | 24.19 |
| Container terminal | 13.15 | 12.96 |
| Marine liquid terminal (POL, LPG) | 4.17 | 4.16 |
| General cargo berths 1 and 2 | 2.17 | 1.51 |
| Multi cargo terminal | 2.12 | 1.47 |
| LNG terminal | 1.22 | 0.99 |
| Total | 48.41 | 45.28 |
The same report gives container traffic of 6,81,124 TEUs in 2024-25 and 1,61,384 vehicles handled, up from 1,14,604 the year before. Cumulative car exports through the general cargo berth had crossed 23.80 lakh units by 31 March 2025. In August 2025, the port received 550 vehicles from Singapore on the car carrier Tourmaline Ace for onward shipping, which Indian Infrastructure reported as the first automobile transshipment handled at an Indian port.
Most terminals are operated by private concessionaires. The report names Adani Ennore Container Terminal for containers, JSW Infrastructure group companies for the coal and multi-cargo terminals, and Ennore Tank Terminals for liquids. The LNG terminal, led by Indian Oil in a joint venture, has a capacity of 5 million tonnes a year, expandable to 10.
Capacity and expansion plans
The port has nine operational berths with a combined capacity of 57.44 million tonnes. Its Master Plan 2047 envisages 27 berths and capacity of 254.52 million tonnes, according to the annual report. One terminal, built for iron ore, was never put into use.
In December 2024, Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid foundation stones for three projects worth Rs 582 crore, India Seatrade News reported: Rs 520 crore of capital dredging to deepen berths from 16 m to 18 m draught, a Rs 37 crore seawater desalination plant producing 1 million litres a day, and a Rs 25 crore integrated command and control centre.
The environmental questions
The port sits beside Ennore Creek and the Kosasthalaiyar backwaters, a tidal wetland that fishing villages depend on. Its growth has brought repeated disputes, set out here as the record shows them:
- 2017: The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s Ambattur district office directed the port to remove dredged material dumped in Coastal Regulation Zone areas, after a complaint about a plan to convert about 280 acres of tidal wetland into a coal stacking yard, The News Minute reported. Campaigners said encroachments had already taken 1,090 of the creek’s 8,000 acres.
- 2018: The Union Environment Ministry rejected the port’s plan to build office, commercial and parking facilities on the eastern inter-tidal salt pans of the creek, stating that wetlands mattered more than the development, according to Citizen Matters. It allowed facilities such as coal yards on the western side, which fishermen’s groups continued to oppose.
On its side, the port’s annual report points to fully mechanised cargo handling, a conveyor with dust suppression at the coal terminal and fire-fighting systems at the liquid terminal. It does not publish emissions figures. Residents with a pollution complaint about any unit in the area can approach the TNPCB district office.
Quick answers
How much cargo does Kamarajar Port handle?
49.08 million tonnes in 2025-26, per the shipping ministry, and 17.26 million tonnes in April to July 2026.
Who owns Kamarajar Port?
It is a company, Kamarajar Port Limited, wholly owned by the Chennai Port Authority under the Union shipping ministry.
Is Ennore Port the same as Kamarajar Port?
Yes. Ennore Port Limited, commissioned in 2001, was renamed Kamarajar Port Limited.
What is its main cargo?
Coal, at 25.58 million tonnes of 48.41 million in 2024-25, followed by containers and petroleum products.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Corporate information (Kamarajar Port Limited)
- Annual Report 2024-25 (Kamarajar Port Limited)
- Cargo handled at Major Ports, April-March 2025-26 (Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways)
- Cargo handled at Major Ports, April-July 2026-27 (Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways)
- Foundation stone laid for three projects worth Rs 582 crore at Kamarajar Port (India Seatrade News, December 2024)
- Kamarajar Port becomes first port to handle automobile transshipment (Indian Infrastructure, September 2025)
- Crucial victory for Ennore fishermen as MoEFCC says wetlands more important (Citizen Matters, November 2018)
- Ennore Creek: Kamarajar Port asked to remove dredged material (The News Minute, July 2017)
