UAE firm wins Rs 4,243 crore tender to build container terminal at Tuna-Tekra

DP World’s Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Ports Pvt Ltd, beat Adani Group’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, the second bidder, to win the project from the state-owned Ports Authority, which operates India’s largest port.

“A few days ago, we have issued a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) to DP World. This is a greenfield PPP project where DP World will invest Rs 4,243 crore and Deendayal Port will invest an additional Rs 300 crore,” Deendayal Port Authority Chairman Sanjay Mehta told reporter indian expresson Monday.

“Three previous bidders showed interest. But the third, Qatar-based QTerminal, did not participate in the financial bid,” Mehta added. DP World will be responsible for the design, engineering, financing, procurement, implementation, commissioning, operation, management and maintenance of the project for a period of 30 years.

The new facility is approximately 15 kilometers from the port of Candela, which has been handling containerized cargo since October 1981. The port has 14 dry cargo berths and 6 oil berths.

The project involves the construction of an offshore berthing structure capable of berthing three vessels simultaneously, with an annual throughput of 2.19 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the development of the Tuna-Tekra Container Terminal under a public-private partnership model in October 2022 on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

Initially, the project will cater for 6,000 TEU vessels with a 14m draft, so Deendayal Port Authority will dredge and maintain a 15.5m deep public channel. During the concession period, DP World also has the freedom to handle vessels with a draft of up to 18 meters by deepening and widening the approach channel, berth pockets and turning rings.

Currently, DP World operates a container terminal in Mundra, 60 kilometers from Kandla.It is also in Nhava Sheva, Kochi and Chennai.