As many as eight firms will take part in the pre-application meeting scheduled for Wednesday regarding the setting up of Rs.1, 270-crore mega container terminal at Ennore Port Ltd.
On May 24, EPL launched a new Request for Qualification (RFQ) process seeking applications from interested parties for the construction of mega container terminal as the earlier private terminal operator withdrew from the project in October 2012 citing it as unviable.
According to RFQ document, the project will be developed on design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis for a concession period of 30 years.
To be built in two phases, the container project will have a capacity to handle 1.4 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers. The first phase will have a quay length of 400 m with minimum four quay cranes and the second phase will have quay length of 330 m with three quay cranes.
Talking to The Hindu , a port official said: “The meeting will be held to elicit applicant feedback so that we could move fast on this project. We are determined to award the contract to the successful bidder by December as we have already lost considerable time on this project. Hence, we have made some changes in our plan to make it attractive for the participants.”
Incidentally, the port has already obtained environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests for a quay length of 1,000 m having an annual capacity to handle 1.5 million TEUs.
“If a single party is willing to take up the development of the container terminal in one go, we are ready to help them. The last date for submitting RFQ is July 12,” the official said.
