Shapoorji, Essar eye Odisha river port plan

Essar Ports and Shapoorji Pallonji are among companies that have shown interest in developing a river port planned by the Odisha government.

The state government has initiated the tendering process for selecting developers for Odisha’s first river port, estimated to cost Rs 2,110 crore.

After inviting requests for qualification, the state government would hold a pre-bid conference on Monday.

“The pre-bid conference is designed to address queries of the prospective bidders. The port can be either captive or commercial — it will depend on the developer. This project has a lot of potential despite being planned in the vicinity of the Paradip Port that mostly handles bulk cargo,” said a source in the know.

The port is being planned on the Mahanadi River. The project will be located at Akhadasali village, in Mahakalapada of Kendrapara district. The project will be done on a public-private-partnership basis. The port’s cargo potential is pegged at 44 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) — the first-phase capacity is seen at 18 mtpa.

The project is proposed to be implemented under the model of build, own, operate, share and transfer, where the land would be provided by the authority on a lease basis.

The scope of work broadly includes development and construction of the port, including the container yard, terminal buildings, cargo-handling equipment, construction of berths, facilities for cargo storage, and operation and maintenance.

The applicant needs to have a minimum net worth of Rs 600 crore at the close of the preceding financial year. In case of a consortium, members that have and continue to have an equity share of at least 26 per cent each in the special purpose vehicle are required to hold this stake for two years from the starting date of commercial operations of the port.

The project is envisioned for use by different industries. It will be modelled on a similar port built on the Tapti River in Gujarat. Earlier, the Odisha government had entered into an agreement with Kolkata-based public sector enterprise Wapcos for developing the river port. Wapcos has done the techno-economic feasibility study for the proposed port.

On the waterfront

—Essar Ports and Shapoorji Pallonji are among those to have shown interest in developing a river port planned by the Odisha government 
 

—The state government has begun tendering process for selecting developers
 

—Odisha’s first river port, being planned on the Mahanadi, is estimated to cost Rs 2,110 crore
 

—After inviting requests for qualification, the state government would hold a pre-bid conference on Monday