India’s second largest private port operator, Essar Ports is looking to secure finances of about Rs 700 crore for developing three iron ore berths at the Visakhapatnam port in the next 6 months. In June, the company had won the bid for mechanisation and operation of three iron ore berths at Visakhapatnam Port, which will have a combined capacity of 23 million tonne per annum (MTPA). The total project cost is estimated to be about Rs 1,000 crore, said Essar Ports’ Managing Director Rajiv Agarwal.
The company may take about Rs 700 crore loans out of the Rs 1,000 crore project cost. The loans will be taken for next four years. It has to go for financial closure, in next six months to close it, Agarwal said.
The company is looking to complete the formalities and transfer of assets for the iron ore berths at Visakhapatanam port in next three months and immediately after that, the company can begin operations as they are existing berths and are operational. The three iron ore berths at Vizag port alone would add 17 mtpa of third-party cargo for Essar.
After their modernisation, total iron ore handling capacity of the Ruias-promoted firm would on the East Coast will become 39 mtpa as it already has one iron ore berth of 16 mtpa capacity at the Paradip port.
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