Paradip Port to sign concession pact for Rs 591 cr iron-ore berth

The Paradip Port Trust will sign the model concession agreement (MCA) tomorrow with a consortium led by Hong Kong-based Nobel Group for construction of a deep-draught iron-ore berth at the port entailing Rs 591.35 crore investment.     

"The MCA will be signed on July 1 in the presence of the presence of Shipping Minister G K Vasan," official sources said.    

Other partners to the consortium are Gammon Infrastructure and state-run trading company MMTC.

The consortium has formed a special-purpose-vehicle Blue Water Iron Ore Terminal for executing the project.     

The berth will have a capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum and has been constructed on a build-operate-transfer basis. The concession period is 30 years.     

Paradip Port Trust Chairman K Raghuramaiah will sign the MCA.     

The government is also working on other projects to be awarded to the Port for capacity augmentation.

These include construction of a multipurpose berth and mechanisation of coal handling facilities.