Nod for Rs 3686 crore terminal at Chennai port

The public private partnership appraisal committee has given its nod for the proposed Rs 3,686 crore mega container terminal at Chennai port. The port trust is likely to award the project by March this year.

Chennai Port Trust chairman Subhash Kumar confirmed the development and said nine companies had shown interest in the project, of which eight qualified. “By the end of this month or early February, the port would call for request for proposal and by March we would place the order,” he said.

The project would be developed in phases between 2013 and 2018. “Upon completion, the total capacity of the mega container terminal will be 4 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) per annum.

Of the total cost, Rs 963 crore would be spent for breakwater construction, Rs 500 crore for berths, Rs 360 crore towards dredging and Rs 124 crore for reclamation, he said. The port would contribute Rs 561 crore.

Chennai port currently has two private container terminal operators -- Dubai World and PSA Sical. The two operators are likely to handle around three million TEUs per annum by the end of 2013, he said.

The companies that evinced interest in the proposed terminal are: L&T Transco Pvt Development Project Ltd, Chennai; Navayuga Engineering Co Ltd, Chennai; DP World Pvt Ltd, Mumbai; IL&FS Maritime Infra Co Ltd, Mumbai; Vadinar Oil Terminal Ltd, Mumbai; Mundra Port & SEZ Ltd, Ahmedabad; Lanco Infratech Ltd, Hyderabad; FGI Group of Companies, Malaysia, and GVK-Leighton Consortium, Mumbai. FGI Group failed to qualify.