Deendayal Port Authority invites ₹733 crore bids to privatise and mechanise two cargo berths for faster ship turnaround.
The Deendayal Port Authority, the governing body for the port at Kandla in Gujarat, has opened a tender for the privatisation of berths 15 and 16. The project, which involves handling multipurpose clean cargo and containers, is being offered on a Public-Private-Partnership basis for a duration of 30 years. This move aligns with the national asset monetisation programme.
The berths were previously managed by a commercial operator for non-liquid and non-container cargo; however, the port authority resumed control after the earlier agreement was ended due to performance issues. Under the new proposal, the existing infrastructure will be upgraded through an investment of ₹733 crore from the successful bidder.
By merging the two berths into a single project, the authority intends to meet growing demand for clean cargo and increase container traffic. During the financial year ending in 2025, the port managed 150.15 million tonnes of total cargo. The current container operations at the port are managed by J M Baxi Ports and Logistics.
The development plan includes:
- A combined quay length of 600 metres, sufficient to accommodate two 300-metre vessels simultaneously.
- A backup area spanning 43.3 hectares for rail yards, stack yards, and supporting infrastructure.
- The capacity to handle 14.10 million tonnes of cargo annually, including 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
- The ability to service ships of up to 75,000 deadweight tonnes with a 14.5-metre draft.
The tender documents specify that the contract will be awarded to a single operator responsible for both containers and clean cargo, such as salt, sugar, food grains, steel products, and silica clay. The selection process will be determined by the highest royalty per tonne or TEU offered to the port authority.
The winning entity is required to complete the installation of modern mechanised equipment and the development of the backup area within 18 months of the contract being awarded.
SOURCE – ET INFRA
