Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) decided to call fresh bidding for the Rs 633 crore project to expand the capacity of a container terminal to 850 meter from the present 450 meter.
The port authority decided to call fresh bids as it failed to arrive at a consensus with the only bidder, Visakhapatnam Container Terminal Private Limited (VCTPL), in the earlier round of bidding. Both the port authority and VCTPL failed to arrive at a consensus on the revenue-sharing for the project. Presently, VCTPL is handling 247,000 TEU a year.
The project is meant to add 0.54 milliion Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) to the existing ability of the terminal (0.40 million TEU).
This is not the only project facing delay in Vizag port. Two more projects are making not much headway for one reason or the other.
There are no bidders for West Quay (WQ) 7 and West Quay 8 berths – estimated to charge Rs 390 crore – and the Visakhapatnam port has decided to take up the works on its own.
The 3rd major project – the modernization of the ore handling plant at a price of Rs 845 crore – has been awarded to a subsidiary of the Essar group, inviting sharp criticism from the unions and other sections.
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