Mundra Port Rail Project May Go On Stream By Oct

Mundra Port, the Rs 600 crore multi-purpose terminal of Gujarat Adani Port Ltd (GAPL), which is setting up the longest railway line in the private sector between the port and Adipur in Kutch, plans to commission the Rs 160 crore project by October.

GAPL president Malay Mahadevia said that while the infrastructure on the 57 km rail track will be developed, owned and maintained by GAPL, its operational aspects would be under the purview of the Western Railway. Earnings from the project will be shared as per the revenue-sharing model to be finalised soon.

"An agreement in regard to commencing operations, sharing revenues and other related issues, which is being discussed at the board level of Indian Railways, would be signed between GAPL and the Railways very soon. Indian Railways has assured us that the commercial operations of this railway track would commence within the next three months," he said.

 

The railway project comprises two intermediate stations, a terminal yard at Mundra Port called receipt and dispatch stations, a number of sidings and spurs to serve commodity specific requirements with platforms, connecting roads, loading/unloading facilities, gantry in the cargo complex as well as rail container yard. The cargo traffic on this rail track would be approximately 15 million tonne by 2011-12 as projected in the studies by Ferguson and BARSYL.

To compliment the existing multi-purpose terminal, his company is also developing another Rs 450-crore 1,100 metre long Mundra Container Terminal with a draft of 18.5 meter, which would be the deepest draft of any port in India, Mahadevia said.

It would enable handling of "future generation container ships" and would strive to emerge as a hub port. The construction of this container terminal has already commenced and it is expected to commence commercial operations by July 2002.

O the total 1,100 meters berthing length, a sophisticated modern container terminal for future cargo vessels with a berthing length of 600 metres would be completed by April 2002 and shall be capable of berthing 8,000 TEUs vessel. The remaining 500 meters berthing length is earmarked to accommodate post Panamax Cape size, Suez Max build vessels, he said.

Adani Group senior vice-president (finance) Devang Desai said the supporting infrastructure and equipment being put up for facilitating the operations of this container terminal include container yard, container freight station (CFS), loading/unloading stations, rail-mounted quay cranes, mobile harbour cranes, rail-mounted gantry cranes, reach stackers, rubber tyred gantries, tractor-trailers, stackers and reclaimers.

While the consultancy and contract for the railway project has been awarded to Permanent Pre-Stress Pvt Ltd, the construction work of the container terminal is being handled by Kaverner Cementation (India) Ltd and the back-up equipment are being supplied by Noell of Germany.

Desai claimed that once the mentioned projects commence full-fledged commercial operations by 2005, Mundra Port would have a multi-cargo handling capacity of 25 million tonne and it would emerge as the most attractive among Indian ports with latest infrastructure facilities and it would, in every aspects, match the performance and productivity standards set by leading international ports.