The way has been cleared for global port operator APM Terminals Management to invest in setting up container cargo loading facilities at Dhamra Port in Orissa, according to reliable sources, reported the Mint.
"The board of Dhamra Port met recently and approved signing of an agreement with APM Terminals in this regard," one of the persons briefed on the matter said on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been made public yet.
APM Terminals is the world's third biggest container port operator and a unit of Danish shipping and energy company A P Moller-Maersk. The group also operates Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping firm.
A spokesman for Dhamra Port declined to give details of the proposed agreement. APM Terminals, headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, was not immediately available for comment.
"We are interested in increasing our India presence given the right opportunity," Richard Mitchell, chief commercial officer at APM Terminals, said earlier.
"Our strategy is to look at emerging markets and to make suitable investments in these countries." Dhamra Port, an equal joint venture between Larsen and Toubro and Tata Steel, was awarded rights by the Orissa government in 2004 to develop and operate a port that can load up to 109 million tonnes of cargo at Dhamra in the state's Bhadrak district. The US$545.88 million first phase of the port, one of the deepest on India's eastern coast and with a capacity to load 27 million tonnes of cargo, has started trial runs.
The port and Indian Railways are negotiating a commercial agreement for operating a 62km railway track linking Dhamra with Bhadrak on the main Howrah-Chennai line for evacuation of cargo. The $199.71 million rail link, fully funded by Dhamra Port, is the longest electrified private rail line in India. To facilitate the deal, Dhamra Port will have to sell to APM Terminals the rights to build, operate and manage container-loading facilities at the port. In return, APM Terminals will have to share revenue with the port company.
The terminal will have a capacity to load up to 500,000 containers a year initially, which can be scaled up to one million containers later, depending on demand.
The Danish firm will have to invest $110.95 million to $221.9 million to acquire the rights to construct a berth and to erect the equipment to load containers, said another source.
"The board of Dhamra Port met recently and approved signing of an agreement with APM Terminals in this regard," one of the persons briefed on the matter said on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been made public yet.
APM Terminals is the world's third biggest container port operator and a unit of Danish shipping and energy company A P Moller-Maersk. The group also operates Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping firm.
A spokesman for Dhamra Port declined to give details of the proposed agreement. APM Terminals, headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, was not immediately available for comment.
"We are interested in increasing our India presence given the right opportunity," Richard Mitchell, chief commercial officer at APM Terminals, said earlier.
"Our strategy is to look at emerging markets and to make suitable investments in these countries." Dhamra Port, an equal joint venture between Larsen and Toubro and Tata Steel, was awarded rights by the Orissa government in 2004 to develop and operate a port that can load up to 109 million tonnes of cargo at Dhamra in the state's Bhadrak district. The US$545.88 million first phase of the port, one of the deepest on India's eastern coast and with a capacity to load 27 million tonnes of cargo, has started trial runs.
The port and Indian Railways are negotiating a commercial agreement for operating a 62km railway track linking Dhamra with Bhadrak on the main Howrah-Chennai line for evacuation of cargo. The $199.71 million rail link, fully funded by Dhamra Port, is the longest electrified private rail line in India. To facilitate the deal, Dhamra Port will have to sell to APM Terminals the rights to build, operate and manage container-loading facilities at the port. In return, APM Terminals will have to share revenue with the port company.
The terminal will have a capacity to load up to 500,000 containers a year initially, which can be scaled up to one million containers later, depending on demand.
The Danish firm will have to invest $110.95 million to $221.9 million to acquire the rights to construct a berth and to erect the equipment to load containers, said another source.