Vedanta inks pact for redevelopment of Mormugao port

Mining conglomerate Vedanta said it has signed the concession agreement for Rs 1,145 crore redevelopment project of the Mormugao port in Goa.

The company had received the Letter of Award for the project on April 15, 2016 on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) Basis, it said in a statement.

The agreement was inked in Mumbai between Vedanta's Iron Ore business CEO Kishore Kumar and Mormugao Port Trust Chairman I Jeyakumar in the presence of Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Paresekar, it added.

Kumar is the Director of the Special Purpose Vehicle Goa Sea Port Pvt Ltd which is a subsidiary of Sterlite Ports.

The Project will be handled by Goa Sea Port Pvt Ltd, which currently owns and operates a 14 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity fully mechanised coal terminal in Visakhapatnam Port of Andhra Pradesh.

Project, which includes redevelopment of berths 8, 9 and barge berths, has been awarded through a competitive bidding process on DBFOT Basis for the 19 MTPA capacity multi-cargo Port terminal in Mormugao Port.

The total estimated project cost is Rs 1,145 crore and construction is expected to be completed in five years.

Gadkari said: "The project has a huge potential and will usher in a great deal of progress to the state of Goa and its people.

"It is very important to develop port infrastructure in a country like India that has a huge coastline. Such projects will help reduce the logistics cost most important for trade and generate employment opportunities to socio economic progress." Parsekar said: "The project will modernise the port infrastructure and enhance efficiency to stimulate maritime traffic providing a boost to the state economy." Vedanta is the largest exporter of iron ore from Goa and this project would provide logistics integration to our iron ore business apart from handling other cargo, Vedanta's Kumar said.

The re-developed berths is planned to handle all type of cargo including iron ore, coal, limestone, bauxite and general cargo with an expected capacity of 19.22 MTPA, he added.

"With this Vedanta's Sterlite Ports will have a strategic presence on both West and East Coasts in the traditional iron ore and coal hubs respectively," Kumar noted.