DP World, PSA, Essar, Lanco and GVK are among the seven shortlisted entities for the Rs 6,700-crore fourth container terminal project of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), at Navi Mumbai, according to sources in the shipping ministry. The terminal is expected to add 57.6 million tonne capacity to the port.
This is the second time the terminal has been put up for bidding. The first round of bidding was cancelled by the shipping ministry, as the bid failed to attract enough participation. One of the interested parties, Gateway Terminals India (GTI), was disqualified from participating in the first bidding process due to “security reasons”, said a senior official in the shipping ministry. “The Supreme Court has allowed us to go ahead with the project, as it would add substantial capacity to the port. Our final decision will be subject to the views of the court,” the official told Business Standard.
GTI is a joint venture (JV) between APM Terminals, which operates the third container terminal of JNPT, and government-controlled Container Corporation of India. The JV did not take part in the current round of bidding. GTI had contested the disqualification decision in the Bombay High Court. After losing the case, it appealed in the Supreme Court last year. The matter is still sub judice. DP World operates the Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal at JNPT. A total of nine companies participated in the bidding process. The other six qualified entities are a consortium of GVK and Samsung Corporation, Essar group, Sterlite Industries and Leighton Contractors, Mundra Port and SEZ and Adani Enterprises, Lanco Infratech, and PSA and ABG Ports. Among those who did not qualify was L&T Transco Pvt Ltd.
Stressing the need to have another terminal at JNPT, a shipping analyst, who did not want to be named, said the port was the biggest in India and one of the largest container terminals in South Asia. “There is a lot of congestion in the port and it is important to have another container terminal. If everything goes well, the new terminal should be ready by 2014,” he said.
