After shutting down its operations for over two years, Adani Vizag Coal Terminal Private Ltd (AVCTPL), a special purpose vehicle floated by Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd, will reopen its greenfield fully automated berth in the inner harbour of Visakhapatnam Port on July 1.
The SPV, which signed the concession agreement with the port in 2011 for constructing the east quay-1 berth in place of old EQ-1 and 2 at a cost of ₹323.18 crore by August 2014, had claimed that it had completed the work eight months ahead of schedule with an investment of about ₹400 crore.
“Now the company has taken up cleaning and revival operation. It will resume trial operations to handle steam coal in a few days and full-fledged operations from next month,” reliable sources told The Hindu .
The sources said though the project proponent had walked out of the project telling Visakhapatnam Port that it was not in a position to run the facility after the AP Pollution Control Board slapped a penalty of ₹20 lakh for continuing trucking activity to ferry cargo in violation of agreement signed by it in 2015, now it has decided to reopen the berth.
The decision came as a surprise for the port authorities who were busy with legal consultation to terminate the concession agreement and to explore running the coal berth on its own with some modifications to convert it into a multi-cargo berth or involving another party.
However, the loans obtained for the project subsequently became a thorny issue. Sources said the loans which were taken for the project were subsequently transferred to the holding company without prior approval of the landlord port.
When contacted, Visakhapatnam Port Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu confirmed that the SPV had promised to handle four million tonnes per annum.
Bhavanapadu project
The Adani Group has 10 strategically located port facilities with presence at Mundra, Hazira, Dahej and Kandla in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha, Mormugao in Goa and Visakhapatnam.
The A.P. government has awarded the development of Bhavanapadu port project in Srikakulam adjoining Odisha on BOT basis to the Adani Group. After negotiations, it increased the payment of port revenue share to the government from 0.5% to 2.3%. The government promised to allot 2,500 acres for development of port and logistic facilities with an estimated investment of ₹3,000 crore.
