KPT’s first container terminal (India) to start operations
Kandla's long-awaited first container terminal will be operational from this week-end. A private operator, ABG Kandla Container Terminal Ltd (ABGKCT), made the announcement in presence of top Kandla Port Trust (KPT) officials at a meeting of port users last week. ABGKCT, a specially created subsidiary of Mumbai-based ABG Heavy Industries Limited has been in port-related business but is a new entrant in container handling business at any container terminal in any Indian port.
The port trust, under a licensed agreement, has given ABGKCT its two dry cargo berth with the berth number 11 already functional and the 12th in the last stage of completion to run the container terminal under Build, Operate Transfer (BOT) basis.
A novice here, ABGKCT has to compete with its formidable rival at Mundra port _ the Dubai Port World (DPW), a Dubai government-owned port and one of the biggest container operators in the world.
And this was the main concern of the port users of Kandla port in their first interaction with the management of the ABGKCT who did not want diversion of already well-established container traffic to now DPW-run Mundra International Container Terminal (MICT).
“No problem,” says ABG’s owner-director Saket Agrawal. ‘’We have management consultancy from the world famous container terminal giant, Voltri Terminal Europa Spa of Italy, and now we govt Singapore Port Authority (SPA), as advisor. I can assure you world class service at our new venture Kandla,’’ he told the port users.
‘’Ultimately, what does any port user want_ cheaper handling of containerized cargo. Our charges would be 25 per cent less than those charged by our immediate rival at Mundra. We are all set to start our container handling business from Kandla’s designated 11 cargo jetty for container terminal from 10 this month,’’ Senthil Kumar, Terminal Manager told Indian Express on Monday.
KPT chairman A Janardhana Rao also allayed fears and said that container terminal had been a dream project of his port since the nineties.
‘’We had tried our best to have container terminal way back in the nineties and had gone much ahead but for one or other reasons beyond our control we could not have the much needed terminal,’’ he said, adding that his port had launched numerous port development projects to make Kandla again number one in handling traffic.
Though the container terminal would be operational with immediate effect, it would be full-fledged only in 2009 when the 12 berth is added and all most modern container handling equipment are installed. The terminal would have to pass through three stages to be ‘a future preferred port’ as per the ABG’s own admission.
‘’The first stage to commence from March 10 is described as Early Commencement of Operation Date (ECOD)when handling would be done with the help of two mobile harbour cranes on berth number 11. In the second stage or COD-11 which will commence with installation of two key cranes called RMQC (Rail Mounted Quay Crane) or simply stated gantry cranes. The COD-12 would, however, start in 2009 when two more RMQCs would be installed with handing over of 12 the berth by the port trust to ABGKCT,’’ it said.
Sources in the port trust said that since the first stage was some 20 days late, the container operator would be penalized for per day delay as per the agreement between it and KPT. According to sources, ABGKCT would have a total investment of Rs 330 crore on its Kandla container terminal project and it had already invested so far Rs 110 crore.
The port trust, under a licensed agreement, has given ABGKCT its two dry cargo berth with the berth number 11 already functional and the 12th in the last stage of completion to run the container terminal under Build, Operate Transfer (BOT) basis.
A novice here, ABGKCT has to compete with its formidable rival at Mundra port _ the Dubai Port World (DPW), a Dubai government-owned port and one of the biggest container operators in the world.
And this was the main concern of the port users of Kandla port in their first interaction with the management of the ABGKCT who did not want diversion of already well-established container traffic to now DPW-run Mundra International Container Terminal (MICT).
“No problem,” says ABG’s owner-director Saket Agrawal. ‘’We have management consultancy from the world famous container terminal giant, Voltri Terminal Europa Spa of Italy, and now we govt Singapore Port Authority (SPA), as advisor. I can assure you world class service at our new venture Kandla,’’ he told the port users.
‘’Ultimately, what does any port user want_ cheaper handling of containerized cargo. Our charges would be 25 per cent less than those charged by our immediate rival at Mundra. We are all set to start our container handling business from Kandla’s designated 11 cargo jetty for container terminal from 10 this month,’’ Senthil Kumar, Terminal Manager told Indian Express on Monday.
KPT chairman A Janardhana Rao also allayed fears and said that container terminal had been a dream project of his port since the nineties.
‘’We had tried our best to have container terminal way back in the nineties and had gone much ahead but for one or other reasons beyond our control we could not have the much needed terminal,’’ he said, adding that his port had launched numerous port development projects to make Kandla again number one in handling traffic.
Though the container terminal would be operational with immediate effect, it would be full-fledged only in 2009 when the 12 berth is added and all most modern container handling equipment are installed. The terminal would have to pass through three stages to be ‘a future preferred port’ as per the ABG’s own admission.
‘’The first stage to commence from March 10 is described as Early Commencement of Operation Date (ECOD)when handling would be done with the help of two mobile harbour cranes on berth number 11. In the second stage or COD-11 which will commence with installation of two key cranes called RMQC (Rail Mounted Quay Crane) or simply stated gantry cranes. The COD-12 would, however, start in 2009 when two more RMQCs would be installed with handing over of 12 the berth by the port trust to ABGKCT,’’ it said.
Sources in the port trust said that since the first stage was some 20 days late, the container operator would be penalized for per day delay as per the agreement between it and KPT. According to sources, ABGKCT would have a total investment of Rs 330 crore on its Kandla container terminal project and it had already invested so far Rs 110 crore.
