DP World’s Integrated Chennai Business Park (ICBP) is the largest among its three free trade warehousing zones (FTWZs) in India. Operational since 2024 on the outskirts of the city, the facility is a part of the company’s global network of more than 16 economic zones. In an interview, Ranjit Ray, CEO, logistics, subcontinent, Central Asia, Levant & Egypt, DP World, spoke about the facility’s expansion, growth, and capitalising on TN’s industrial ecosystem. Excerpts:What are the ICBP’s features and how much cargo will it handle this fiscal?The facility spans 125 acres and is being developed in three phases, with more than two million sqft of warehousing and cargo-handling facilities planned. Phase one is fully operational, featuring six lakh sqft across four warehouses, a two lakh sqft container yard, and allied infrastructure. Designed as a world-class integrated logistics hub, it offers customisable lease terms that allow businesses to choose the space and duration that meet their requirements. By offering regulatory benefits under the SEZ policy, simplified customs procedures, and over 66 value-added services, including labelling, kitting and packaging, the FTWZ enables manufacturers and exporters to reduce logistics costs, improve inventory efficiency, and accelerate access to global markets. We expect annual cargo throughput at our Chennai FTWZ to increase by around 20% in FY27, supported by anticipated growth in customer volumes and business activity.Why is this facility important to your global operations and India?Our FTWZ’s advantage lies in our ‘One Port, One Zone’ model, where the company operates both the port and the FTWZ. This creates a single-window solution for cargo movement between the port terminal and the FTWZ, reducing operational complexity and improving supply chain efficiency. The Chennai FTWZ is an essential part of our global network of more than 16 economic zones. It is well connected to Jebel Ali, Ain Sokhna, Posorja, London, and other economic zones.What are your expansion plans?We continue to strengthen the Chennai FTWZ in line with customer demand and Tamil Nadu’s growing role as a global manufacturing and trade hub. We have invested about `1,700 crore in developing three FTWZs in India. Our occupancy at the Chennai FTWZ rose from 10% in 2024 to 66% in 2026. Our Phase 2 and Phase 3 developments will expand warehousing capacity and further enhance the park’s integrated logistics and FTWZ capabilities. The expansion reinforces our long-term commitment to building world-class trade infrastructure with efficient access to domestic and international markets, especially the UAE, Australia, and Southeast Asia, from Tamil Nadu.TN is a major manufacturing player. How will you capitalise on it?TN’s exports grew to $59 billion in FY26, driven by key sectors such as electronic goods, automobiles, auto components, engineering goods, textiles, leather, and footwear, reinforcing its position as one of India’s leading manufacturing and export hubs. With the govt targeting $1 trillion in exports, we see significant opportunities in both exports and re-exports. We are supporting major automobile, auto component, chemical, high-tech engineering, and renewable industries through our various solutions.Your take on the free trade agreements (FTAs)FTAs with Australia, UAE, EU, and UK make TN a stronger export base by cutting tariff and non-tariff costs, enabling companies to sell competitively in those markets. FTAs improve market access, while the FTWZ improves operating efficiency. India’s FTAs and evolving customs framework significantly facilitate vendor managed inventory (VMI) by enabling foreign suppliers to store goods in India in a cost-effective manner.What was the impact of the West Asia crisis on the Chennai facility?We have not seen any material business impact, and the current environment has only reinforced the value of resilient FTWZs and multimodal supply chain models. Due to global geopolitical tensions, ocean freight costs spiked, making exports less profitable for Indian companies. By using our facility, exporters could treat goods as “deemed exports” and still record them as export revenue without immediate shipment. This helped exporters maintain cash flow and profitability despite high freight rates, turning a challenging situation into a financial advantage.
