Maritime Board scouts for investors to develop ports

The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is looking forward to the coming Global Investors' Summit to find some private companies interested in developing four ports in the state.

The GMB's global tenders earlier for privatisation of Simar, Vansi-Borsi, Mithivirdi and Bedi ports had evoked scanty response.

GMB's chief operating officer G C Murmu has confirmed that the tenders invited by the GMB have not yielded the desired results and the GMB is banking on the investors' summit where private parties might be interested in developing these ports.

The GMB now says it proposes to develop these ports in the second phase.

The GMB has already finalised the sites for the ports and groundwork such as contouring and products that can be handled, he said.

The ports would be developed on the basis of the requirements of the region or the circumstances prevailing, he said.

"The GMB is now concentrating on the development of ports such as Hazira, Dahej and Dholera. Shell is already in the process of setting up a terminal there and LNG Petronet has begun work on the Dahej port," he said.

While Simar is located near Veraval, Vansi-Bori is on the Navsari coast in south Gujarat.

Mithivirdi is located 40 kms south of Bhavnagar and just 10 kms north of the Alang ship breaking yard.

Simar port is 27 kms south-west of the existing minor port of Jafrabad and 90 kms east of Veraval.

Availability of draft at the location is favourable and the GMB has proposed that this port will be able to handle LNG, coal and other fuels.

Vansi-Bori, identified for handling petroleum and liquid chemical cargo, is suggested to provide adequate matching port facilities in 10 metres depth and five kms off the shore.

The proposed site is 13 km from the nearest broad-gauge railway link at Navsari and 30 kms south of Surat city.

No proposal was received by the GMB from private parties for development of this site as well.

As the Mithivadi site is located barely 10 kms away from the Alang ship breaking yard, the GMB proposes to develop it as an all-weather port for steel and automobile exports.

Port facilities will be provided at a distance of three kms from the shore. This site, too, will be developed in the second phase as no sound proposal has been received by the GMB.

The existing immediate port at Bedi currently handles 2.50 million tonnes of cargo per annum.

Located along the Bhavnagar coastline, the GMB proposes to develop this port also as an all-weather port exclusively to handle agriculture products.