Exit of Noble will not affect completion of Gopalpur port

Dispelling fears voiced after exit of Hong Kong-based Noble Group Ltd (NGL) from the consortium for developing Gopalpur port in Orissa, the Gopalpur Port Ltd (GPL) today said it would have no adverse impact on the project which would be completed on schedule.

"Exit of NGL does not affect the financial position of the project. It will not be an impediment in the way of successful completion of the project in time," Managing Director of GPL Mahimananda Mishra said.

Ruling out a new partner, he said the other two promoters, Orissa Stevedors Ltd (OSL) and Sara International Ltd, firmly believed that development of the port would continue as per set timeline as financial position of the company was strong enough.

Mishra said Hong Kong-based NGL, which was part of the consortium that had successfully bid to develop Gopalpur port on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in 2006, had little contribution towards the project since the beginnig.

It had started withdrawing right from the beginning and stopped being part of the board since 2007, Mishra said.

Since the exit of NGL does not violate any of the provisions of the concessional agreement signed with Orissa government, permission for its withdrawal is expected soon, he said.

Asserting that the all weather port project was surging ahead to meet the deadline of 2012, Mishra said Phase-2 has achieved financial closure with a consortium of eleven banks on the basis of the balance sheets of OSL and Sara International.

When fully developed, Gopalpur port would have a capacity to handle about 25 million tonne of cargo.

At present open from September to May, the port handled 500,000 tonne of cargo, including coal, iron ore, ilemnite and fertilisers, during the last shipping season, registering an increase of 90 per cent over the previous year, the GPL MD said.

To a query, he said, the empowered committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has recommended environmental clearance for the project. Final approval of the union environment and forests minister was expected in the next few weeks, Mishra said.

GPL aimed at constructing at least three berths to handle more cargo in the next phase of expansion.    
The port had started its operation within three months of signing of the agreement with the state government in 2006.