Krishnapatnam Port Company, promoted by Hyderabad-based CVR Group, is looking at expanding its cargo handling capacity to 100 million tonnes (MT) by the end of this decade, a top company official said.
"We are looking at touching 100 million tonnes cargo capacity by FY21. We are also planning to have a capacity of up to 200 million tonnes," the company's CEO and Director Anil Yendluri told reporters here during a visit over the weekend.
He, however, declined to give any timeline to achieve the 200 MT capacity.
"It is difficult to predict timelines (for 200 MT capacity) now. It depends on how much the 'Make in India' campaign will take it forward and how aggressive the economy is likely to grow in the next 10 years," Yendluri added.
Currently, the port has a capacity to handle 74 MT cargo per year.
Yendluri did not disclose the investments the company will make for capacity expansion.
The port, situated in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, which handled 41 MT cargo in FY15, has seen some dip in cargo handling in the current fiscal due to floods in Tamil Nadu.
"In the current fiscal, there will be a slight dip because we have lost three months during the Tamil Nadu floods and we may end up at 35-36 MT. But this is very healthy growth when you see slow growth of the economy," he said.
The company is also looking at a dip in revenue to Rs 1,750 crore in FY16 from Rs 1,820 crore last fiscal.
The port is being built in three phases, with the first phase commissioned in September 2012. The second phase is underway now.
So far, the company has invested around Rs 8,000 crore for the project.
Its debt-to-equity ratio stands at 70:30, with debt at around Rs 5,000 crore. The company's lenders had refinanced Rs 5,000 crore given to it under '5/25' scheme last year.
Yendluri said the company is also in discussion with England-based private equity player 3i Group, which had picked up around 10 per cent stake in the port for Rs 800 crore in 2009, for finalising its exit.
"Their tenure (for investment) is over and they would like to exit. There are some legal and partnership issues regarding exit which we are trying to resolve," he said.
