The ports ministry has received expressions of interest (EOIs) from nine
players for the Rs 41,000 crore international transhipment port project at
Great Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal, a senior government official said on
Friday 5 May.
“Nine players have submitted
expressions of interest for the international transhipment port project at
Great Nicobar Island,” a senior government official told on the condition of
anonymity.
The EOI was released on January
28.
The proposed port in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will have the
ultimate capacity to handle 16 million containers per year, and in the first
phase, to be commissioned by 2028 at a cost of Rs 18,000 crore, it will handle
more than 4 million containers.
The project is located on the international trade route, with existing
transhipment terminals like Singapore, Klang and Colombo in proximity.
The project focuses on three
key drivers, which can result in making it a leading container
transhipment port — strategic location in terms of proximity (40 nautical
miles) with the international shipping trade route, availability of natural
water depth of over 20m and carrying capacity of transhipment cargo from all
the ports in the proximity, including Indian ports, as per the statement.
The proposed facility is
envisaged to be developed in four phases.
Public-private partnership (PPP) will be encouraged for this project via
landlord mode… The concessionaire would be awarded a long-term PPP concession of 30 to 50 years (based on requirement),
will be responsible for the provision(s) of port services and shall have the
rights to levy, collect and retain charges from port users.
Currently, nearly 75 per cent of India’s transhipped cargo is handled at ports outside India. Colombo, Singapore and Klang handle more than 85 per cent of this cargo, with more than half of it handled at Colombo port.