Business
The Spanish company's stake has been acquired for Rs 15 crore and this also marks foreign firm's partial exit from the project
Updated : Mar 24, 2018, 05:18 AM IST
Gammon Infrastructure has acquired additional 24% stake in Indira Container Terminal Private Limited (ICTPL) or Mumbai Offshore Container Terminal (OCT) from Noatum Ports, S.L., Spain.
After having picked up the stake, Gammon Infrastructure's holding in the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) project will increase from 50% to 74%.
The Spanish company's stake has been acquired for Rs 15 crore and this also marks foreign firm's partial exit from the project. A total of 2,43,75,840 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each have been bought by Gammon Infrastructure from its Spanish partner.
"Increased shareholding of the company in ICTPL from 50% to 74%, allowing partial exit to the joint venture partner and ICTPL has become a subsidiary of the company," reads regulatory filing with BSE.
An official told DNA Money, "After offloading 24% stake, the Spanish partner still holds 26% stake in the project. As per regulations, the entire stake cannot be offloaded during the initial three years from the commissioning of the project."
As reported by DNA Money on Wednesday, the incomplete project is set to go for rebidding for which shipping ministry's nod is awaited.
Under the reworked tendering proposal, Gammon Infrastructure will get first right of refusal. Secondly, the bidding criteria for reserved revenue share will be at 35.064% of the gross revenue.
The new bid will involve procurement and installation of six cranes, dredging and buying other ancillary facilities to have a fully operational container terminal. It also will entail executing the second phase of the project.
Incorporated in September 2007, ICTPL was formed to construct offshore berths and develop OCT on the build-operate-transfer basis in Mumbai harbour, apart from operating the station container terminal at Ballard Pier.
Full-scale operations have not commenced at the OCT as the development is incomplete.
As an interim measure, from July 5, 2015, MbPT authorities allowed the terminal be used for Ro-Ro (Roll-on/roll-off) services / terminal in lieu of revenue. Ro-Ro shipsare designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trailers that are driven on and off the vessel on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle.
An escrow account was created for sharing revenue from the partial operations, with MbPT getting 35.064% of the proceeds.