GMB to hand over 4 ports by year end

The Gujarat Maritime Board will start scrutinising the proposals made by the parties to undertake the development of four ports shortly and aims to hand over the ports to the bidders by the end of this year.

The board had invited quotations for Bedi in Jamnagar, Vansi Borsi in Navasari, Simar in Junagarh and Maroli in Valsad district to be submitted before July 15.

However, the board officials denied commenting on the names and numbers of the bidders for four ports. GMB may also join hands with the bidders if necessary to develop identified ports for privatisation.

An official on condition of anonymity said GMB might prefer to join hands with private player if the negotiations go well.

"We had invited detailed bidding for the ports to be developed by the private institutions. The board had received very good response from the private players during the Global Investors Meet early this year. However, there are ports for which we have not received many bidders. We will handover the ports only after following suitable procedure," said H K Dash, chairman, GMB.

Adani Exports Ltd, N G Group, ABG Shipyard had signed an MoU with GMB for Maroli port apart from three more companies. However, Simar and Vansi-Borsi ports failed to attract many investors. Gulf Omkar and Mercator Lines Ltd had signed MoUs with GMB for Simar and Vansi-Borsi ports respectively.

Commenting on the long time that is being taken by the board in finalising the private players for the development of the port, chief engineer of GMB, C G Raval said:"There are more than one authorities involved in the process such as, Gujarat Industrial Development Board and finance department, which gives necessary approvals. Moreover, we also need to study the nitty-gritty of the proposals made by the private parties. However, our aim is to complete our job by the end of this year."

The road for the privatisation of identified ports has not been smooth for the board. In past, GMB had to extend the last date for submitting the expression of interest for four port for one year from April 30, 2004 to March 31, 2005.

The board had invited expression of interest from private sector participation for Vansi Boarsi, Mithivirdi in Bhavnagar district, Simar and Maroli. GMB had also invited proposals from interested private sector players to develop Bedi port through joint participation.