Developing a Dry bulk Terminal off Tekra Near Tuna, on BOT basis at Kandla Port Trust

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure has approved the project of Developing a Dry Bulk Terminal off Tekra near Tuna on BOT basis at Kandla Port Trust (KPT) at an estimated cost of Rs. 1060 crore. The project envisages construction, operation & maintenance of an off-shore berthing structure with four berthing faces by single BOT operator for a license period of 30 years. The capacity of the project is 14.112 Million Tonnes per annum for catering to four vessels at a time viz. two vessels, each of 1,00,000 DWT and draught 15 m on front and two vessels, each of 75,000 DWT & draught of 14 m on rear side of Berthing structure. The project is to be implemented within 24 months from the date of award of concession.

The following are the benefits/results of the project:-

1. The proposed infrastructure development project has been formulated keeping in view the geographical considerations and the container traffic originating from the western states and the industrial development of western India. Increase in physical capacity and improvement in efficiency of KPT would be for the benefit of the nation in terms of development, progress and boost EXIM Trade.

2. The project is being developed through PPP mode and will be awarded through competitive bidding in a transparent manner. It will also generate competition and hence benefit the users. Tariff has been fixed upfront by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports, a statutory body. :

3. The infrastructure will have the state of the art mechanized and innovative technology, available in the international market for handling the cargo, which in turn will improve the efficiency and capacity of the Port and also reduce turn around time of the vessels.

4. The proposed infrastructure will handle deep draught vessels thus reducing the freight charges by handling larger parcel size vessels.

5. The proposed project will give a boost to the Industrial economy in the hinterland of the port leading to creation of job opportunities.