Indian/Israeli JV bags Nargol deal

Container handling at the Port of Mumbai’s Ballard Pier is reported to have improved significantly following the transfer of operations to a new private terminal operator.

The schedule set last April for India’s planned Vizhinjam Container Transhipment Terminal in the southern state of Kerala has once again been extended after potential bidders sought more time to study the project.

Twenty-eight international and local companies have bought “request for proposal” documents for the Rs53.48B (US$1.34B) container transhipment terminal to be built at Vizhinjam in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has handed over the operation of its main container handling facility, Ballard Pier Station (BPS), along with its two ship-to-shore cranes and three RTGs, to Gammon India (GI) for five years.

A Gammon India-led consortium that includes Spanish operator Dragados SPL has emerged as the highest bidder for the US$250M offshore container terminal project at the Port of Mumbai.

Plans to develop Vizhinjam as a mega port facility in the south Indian state of Kerala (see WorldCargo News June 2005 p12) have finally moved forward with the state government’s decision to sign a concession agreement with Zoom Developers of Mumbai.