In a major thrust to expand capacity at important ports in the country, the Ministry of Shipping has awarded seven projects worth over Rs 1,800 crore, to be developed through the public-private partnership (PPP) route.
Another 19 projects, estimated to cost around Rs 18,000 crore, are expected to be awarded on similar PPP basis by early 2010.
These 26 projects together will expand capacity at the major ports in the country by 42 per cent, or 245.97 million tonnes per annum. The ministry intends to double capacity at major and non-major ports in the country to 1,590 mt by 2012 from the present 795 mt.
Rakesh Srivastav, joint secretary (ports), said: “We have floated RFQs for all the projects to be developed through PPP this fiscal. We are hopeful that the bidding process for most of the projects will be completed by early next year.”
Of the seven projects awarded, those for the construction of deep draft iron ore berth (Rs 591 crore) and deep draft coal berth (Rs 479 crore) at Paradip port have been entrusted to a consortium of the Noble Group, MMTC and Gammon Infrastructure and Essar Shipping Logistics, respectively.
Others include setting up of mechanised iron ore handling facilities at berth 14 at New Mangalore port (Rs 277 crore) by Sical Logistics, development of berth 7 for handling bulk cargo at Mormugao port (Rs 252 crore) by a consortium of the Adani Group and Mundra SEZ and mechanization of berth 2 and 8 at Haldia Dock Complex (Rs 150 crore) by ABG Infralogistics Ltd. These projects on completion will enhance capacity at the ports by nearly 42 million tonnes per annum.
There were originally 17 projects scheduled for awarding in 2009-10. Nine projects, which were supposed to be awarded in the previous fiscal, have spilled over into this year, taking the total number of projects to be awarded for development through PPP this year to 26.
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The 19 projects which are under bidding include development of multipurpose cargo berths 14-16 at Kandla port (Rs 755 crore), development of EQ-10 berth for handling liquid cargo (Rs 55.38 crore) and WQ-6 for handling dry bulk cargo (Rs 114.37 crore) at Vizag. Another five projects valued at over Rs 1,200 crore are scheduled for awarding to develop facilities at Vizag.
Besides these, container terminals are proposed to be set up in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. One new container terminal will be constructed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) at a cost of Rs 6,700 crore, while another standalone container handling facility would be developed at the NSCIT Terminal of the same port for Rs 600 crore.
This apart, Rs 3,686 crore would be expended for a container terminal at Chennai, Rs 1,407 crore and Rs 268 for terminals at Ennore and Tuticorin, respectively.
A senior official at the ministry said: “Growing resource requirements and concern for managerial efficiency have led us to encourage private sector participation in developing infrastructure at ports. We have framed guidelines for PPP projects, formulated model documents (RFQs and RFPs) and model concession agreements, and made provision for upfront tariff fixation by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports to facilitate the same.”