Essar to develop 3 berths at Vizag port for Rs 1,200 cr

Essar Ports today said it has taken over Vishakhapatnam Port Trust's (VPT) iron ore handling complex for 30 years and has also decided to develop three berths at the port at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore.
The company said its subsidiary, Essar Vizag Terminals Ltd (EVTL), has taken over VPT's iron ore handling complex on a build-operate-transfer basis at Rs 185 crore.
"EVTL has taken over the ore handling complex of the VPT by paying an upfront payment of Rs 185 crore. In addition, EVTL will also pay a revenue share to VPT," Essar Ports said in a statement.

That apart, EVTL will develop three berths, with a combined capacity of 23 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), at VPT in two phases, it said.
"The project will be developed at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore over a period of three years and will cover upgradation of outer harbour berths in Phase I and mechanisation of inner harbour berth in Phase II," Essar Ports said.
With the takeover of the outer berths, the operation and upgradation of the terminal will be carried out simultaneously, it added.

Highlighting advantages of taking over iron ore handling complex at VPT, Essar Ports CEO and Managing Director Rajiv Agarwal said that the facility is well placed to cater to both the domestic and international steel Industry.

"This, along with the mechanised CQ III facility in Paradip port, will take Essar Port's total east-coast iron ore handling capacity to 39 MTPA," Agarwal said.
VPT, which has dedicated rail connectivity to India's iron ore mining belt, will serve major iron ore consuming countries like China, Japan, Korea in addition to coastal movement within India, he added.
Vizag Port Trust Chairman M T Krishna Babu said that enhancing the cargo handling capacity and mechanisation of port facilities for efficient management is crucial for long term sustenance.
"We are very sure that Essar will develop the OHC (Ore Handling Complex) facility with latest state-of art handling facilities and achieve higher loading rate thereby reducing the overall turn around by at least 50 per cent," he said.

EVTL CEO Satyanand said the firm expects to achieve one of the highest cargo-handling capacities across ports in the country.
VPT had handled 14 million tonnes of iron ore in the 2013-14 fiscal -- highest by any port in India, Essar Ports said in the statement.