Grup Maritim-led consortium selected for building Ennore container terminal
A multinational consortium headed by Grup Maritim TCB SL, a Barcelona-based leading port operator, has won a bid to build and operate the container terminal at Ennore Port in the state. The estimated cost of the project is £207 million (around Rs 1,435.82 crore).
The consortium, which also includes UK-based Eredene Capital plc, Obrascón Huarte Lain SA, and Lanco Infratech Ltd, was given a Letter of Approval (LoA) for the project on June 26 by Ennore Port Ltd. The port had shortlisted six contenders for the project.
Eredene has 22 per cent stake in the consortium, with an equity commitment of up to £23m (close to Rs 16 crore) spread over four years. “This commitment will initially be funded through existing cash reserves and then through the raising of additional capital into Eredene.”
Grup Marítim TCB SL currently operates 13 terminals in six countries with a total installed capacity of 4.5 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). “Work on the new Ennore container terminal is scheduled to take 33 months and it is expected to be operational by the end of 2013.”
The concession would be awarded on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis for a period of 30 years. The terminal will have a quay length of 1,000 metres and an estimated throughput of 1.5 million TEUs annually. The terminal will provide 15-metre water depth at the berths and will be able to handle three container vessels of up to 8,000 TEUs simultaneously.