Maersk to submit master plan for Pipavav by Feb

Danish shipping company ropes in Deloitte as consultant.

The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), the state's ports regulator, has extended the deadline for AP Moller Maersk to submit its detailed project report (DPR) and master plan for its Pipavav shipyard, till February 2008.

The Danish shipping company has already appointed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt Ltd as its consultant for preparing a detailed business plan and project report for expanding its port facility.

The company plans to invest around Rs 1,200 crore for expansion and modernisation of the port over the next three years, which includes lengthening the 350-metre container berth by additional 35 metre.

After having shortlisted international consultants like KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and a consortium of Royal Haskoning and Crisil, Maersk has appointed Deloitte as the agency.

Maersk has a controlling stake in Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd (GPPL), which has set itself a target of handling one million TEUs (twenty feet equivalent unit) containers within the next two years.

Sources said Deloitte will assess the market potential and prepare a financial plan, viability of the (expansion) project apart from conducting various marine studies.

The company had earlier submitted a DPR for the expansion project. However, the GMB asked for a more detailed report, which had aspects like physical and mathematical model studies, mooring studies and traffic forecast incorporated in it.