11 firms in fray for Punjab Conware

The Punjab government is planning to sell its 100 stake in Punjab State Container & Warehousing Corporation (Punjab Conware), the Navi Mumbai-based container freight station (CFS).

Eleven players are bidding for the company and the successful bidder is expected to shell out Rs 100-120 crore.

Punjab Conware, built at a cost of Rs 90 crore in 1999, is a 27.5-acre facility situated near Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai with a handling capacity of 1,00,000 twenty foot equivalent unit.

According to a industry source, the state has cleared the share purchase agreement for the disinvestment and a final clearance from the directorate of disinvestment is expected soon.

Bidders in the fray include shipping and logistics companies such as P&O Ports Private, United Liner Agencies of India, APL, Gateway Distriparks, Ornate Multimodal Carriers, Forbes Gokak and ABG Heavy Industries.

Export and finance companies such as Indian Finance, LMJ International, Nagrika Export and a proprietory firm Diwanchand Ramsaram have also evinced interest to take over the facility.

"There could be other bidders too who may participate indirectly in the project at a later stage by extending financial arrangement with the bidders, " the source said.

Earlier, the Punjab government had decided to sell to a strategic investor its entire 100 per cent equity stake in Conware and had appointed Delhi-based R R Financial Consultants as the global advisor.