Mundra Port sole bidder for Chennai port terminal
Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone, India’s largest private port, has emerged as the sole bidder for Chennai port’s Rs 3,680-crore mega container terminal project.
The port trust received only Mundra’s price bid after six companies backed out of auction. “It is a greenfield project and has to be made in the sea, which means land has to be reclaimed from the ocean,” said Chennai Port Trust Chairman Atulya Mishra.
A senior official of the Chennai Port said Mundra Port would invest Rs 3,125 crore.
The remaining Rs 560 crore will be invested by the Chennai Port Trust towards dredging, buying tugs and others. The promoter will take 98.5 per cent of the revenue, considering the investment committed in the project, said the official.
The first phase of the project will be completed by 2013 and the entire project by 2017.
Mundara Port will use its investments in constructing 4.5 kilometres of breakwaters and two kilometres of quay length. The promoter is also planning to convert a seawater front into 225 acres of land.
Three months ago, the port trust had invited bids for the project but received no response. Port authorities are now evaluating Mundra’s bid.
According to shipping ministry officials, Chennai Port will decide on whether to go ahead with the single bidder. “We want to expedite projects. The mega terminal project provides a deeper draft and could also emerge as a transshipment terminal,” said Shipping Secretary K Mohandas.
The new terminal will have a capacity to handle four million twenty equivalent unit (TEUs) a year. At present, there are two container terminals at the port with a capacity of two million TEUs. Besides, there are two more container terminals in the state — one in Ennore Port, which is a major port and the other coming up in Kattupalli. The new mega terminal can handle ultra large container vessels and deep draft vessels, It would compete with international ports and reduce the need for transshipment from Singapore and Colombo, and would boost import and export from the region, said the official.