The Rs 1,228 crore offshore container terminal being developed at the Mumbai Port has been delayed by at least six months.
The Rs 1,228 crore offshore container terminal being developed at the Mumbai Port has been delayed by at least six months, owing to technical and bureaucratic hurdles.
The first phase is now expected to be operational by May 2011, as against December 2010.
The development plan has also been revised to develop a capacity to handle 600,000 Teus — standard containers a year — in the first phase and graduate to 1.2 million Teus in Phase 2.
The terminal is expected to be fully operational by May 2013 with a total capacity of 2 million Teus.
Antonio P Passaro, chief executive officer, Indira Container Terminal (ICT) said, “The project has been very much delayed and we are working closely with Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) to get the terminal operational by May 2011.” He added that ICT will not need to pay any default payments to MbPT for the delay.
ICT is a special purpose vehicle incorporated by Gammon Infrastructure and Spanish port operator Dragados, who won the right to develop and operate the terminal on a 30-year build-operate-transfer basis in 2007. ICT had signed a licence agreement with MbPT to execute the project. It had tied up debt of Rs 820 crore in November 2008 from a Canara Bank-led consortium of five Indian banks.
ICT is running the existing container terminal at MbPT, which handled a mere 100,000 Teus last year.
Delays in construction-associated work, both bureaucratic and technical such as dredging of the channel, sourcing of technical equipment and delay in signing of the new project layout, led to the project getting pushed for 2011, Passaro told DNA.
As part of the concession agreement, MbPT will dredge the port channel to 16 metres from the current 10.7 metres at a cost of Rs 360 crore. The contract has been awarded to dredging firm Jaisu Shipping, which has commenced work and expects to complete it by May 2011.
The initial design layout for the offshore terminal, based on which the in-principal approval was taken in 2006, was also changed. “We changed the layout in such a way to increase the capacity by 70%, from 1.2 million Teus designed earlier to 2 million Teus now,” Passaro said.
Meanwhile, MbPT has started work on the road and rail connectivity to the Indira terminal. “Although there was a delay, work on road and rail has been started and we are confident to get it when we start operations,” Passaro said.
Of the three rail tracks planned for the terminal, two will be constructed in the first phase of development.
Container traffic at Indian ports has been growing at 25% for the past 2-3 years and even in the recent depressed global trade environment, saw a 17% growth.
The current capacity at Indian ports — 9.15 million Teus — is expected to be full in the next few years.
Besides, ICT, three other container development projects are underway, which will add 4 million Teus capacity to Indian ports.
Chennai Port Trust’s second container terminal, developed by PSA International and Sical Logistics, will be operational in June, while the Vallarpadam transhipment terminal, developed by Dubai Ports World, will come up in 2010.
A number of existing container terminals are also dredging their channels to be able to cater to larger vessels and increase throughput.
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