The Danish APM Terminals-owned Gujarat Pipavav Port (GPPL), which runs India’s first private port at Pipavav, is planning to double the container capacity and setup tank farms at an investment of Rs 1,100 crore in the next two years.
Prakash Tulsiani, manging director of GPPL said that the company will spend around Rs 800 crore on increasing the container capacity from the existing 850,000 twenty foot equivalent units of containers (TEUs) to 1.5 million TEUs in the next two year period. “The company would increase the length of existing container jetty to 735 meters from the present 385 meters. While the road connectivity to the main port is being redone, the work at the water front would start by the end of monsoon,” said Tulsiani.
The company is also leasing out vast amount of land to three companies to develop the tank farms at the port. The investments worth Rs 300 crore would come from the developers. “The operations at the jetty would be taken care by GPPL the tank farms would be operated by the companies setting up the farms. There would be 50 tanks set up by each firm taking the total capacity to around 1 million tonne,” said Tulsiani.
“The funds for the expansion purpose have already been signed with International Finance Corporation (IFC) — Rs 700 crore as debt — the remaining Rs 100 crore has been raised via private placement to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs),” noted Tulsiani.
At a time when the shipping sector is down and the overal trade is affected due to global slowdown and drop in demand. The company has done better than the average, and have received new business.
In terms of bulk capacities the port has two berths, but one is used as multi purpose berth and is currently being used by the container segment. Once the expansion is complete the container segment will move out from the multi-purpose berth that would then be used by bulk segment.
“We have seen the coal cargo grow year to date by 10 to 12 per cent that is for the first two quarters of the current year (January to December), while on quarter to quarter basis the cargo have risen by 300 per cent.
The growth is also on account of government allowing 100 per cent through to the power producers generating power on imported coal,“ said Tulsiani.
Even the fertiliser cargo is expected to grow in the current year due to good monsoon, he said.
“Overall there will be growth in the port sector in line with the growth in GDP but it would be a subdued growth,“ said Tulsiani.
Prakash Tulsiani, manging director of GPPL said that the company will spend around Rs 800 crore on increasing the container capacity from the existing 850,000 twenty foot equivalent units of containers (TEUs) to 1.5 million TEUs in the next two year period. “The company would increase the length of existing container jetty to 735 meters from the present 385 meters. While the road connectivity to the main port is being redone, the work at the water front would start by the end of monsoon,” said Tulsiani.
The company is also leasing out vast amount of land to three companies to develop the tank farms at the port. The investments worth Rs 300 crore would come from the developers. “The operations at the jetty would be taken care by GPPL the tank farms would be operated by the companies setting up the farms. There would be 50 tanks set up by each firm taking the total capacity to around 1 million tonne,” said Tulsiani.
“The funds for the expansion purpose have already been signed with International Finance Corporation (IFC) — Rs 700 crore as debt — the remaining Rs 100 crore has been raised via private placement to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs),” noted Tulsiani.
At a time when the shipping sector is down and the overal trade is affected due to global slowdown and drop in demand. The company has done better than the average, and have received new business.
In terms of bulk capacities the port has two berths, but one is used as multi purpose berth and is currently being used by the container segment. Once the expansion is complete the container segment will move out from the multi-purpose berth that would then be used by bulk segment.
“We have seen the coal cargo grow year to date by 10 to 12 per cent that is for the first two quarters of the current year (January to December), while on quarter to quarter basis the cargo have risen by 300 per cent.
The growth is also on account of government allowing 100 per cent through to the power producers generating power on imported coal,“ said Tulsiani.
Even the fertiliser cargo is expected to grow in the current year due to good monsoon, he said.
“Overall there will be growth in the port sector in line with the growth in GDP but it would be a subdued growth,“ said Tulsiani.
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