Paradip Port expansion project gets inter-ministerial panel nod

The Paradip Port Trust will invite bids from private players for execution of the project, which will enable construction of Western dock captive berths to handle capesize vessels. The project will also facilitate import of coking coal for steel sector and other industries. A panel chaired by Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty, after consultations with the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Shipping and NITI Aayog, recently gave in-principle approval to this project. The project will be taken up on a common user basis after clearing of financial and technical bids. Prospective bidders will need to have minimum net worth of 50 per cent of the project cost to qualify for bidding.

Sources said the Shipping Ministry is finalising the model concession agreement for the project in consultation with Finance Ministry and NITI Aayog. The project was cleared in the meeting of the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC), chaired by Chakraborty on October 30, 2019. The Centre has kept performance guarantee at 20 per cent of the total project cost, along with penalties for non-achievement of the specified milestones that are to be defined for every six months post signing of the concession agreement.

Located in Odisha, the deepwater Paradip Port handles various cargo like crude oil, iron ore, thermal coal, coking coal, limestone, manganese and fertilisers among others. The port handled total traffic of 109.27 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2018-19, as against 102.01 MMT in 2017-18. The proposed deepening and optimisation of the inner harbour facilities will add annual handling capacity of another 25 MMT to the port’s overall capacity. Post completion of the inner harbour facilities, Paradip Port Trust plans to take up construction of outer harbour project at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore.

Apart from infrastructure projects in the PPP mode, the Finance Ministry is also working on clearing infra projects that will be implemented by the Central government as well as states. The Finance Ministry, last month, unveiled Rs 102 lakh crore of infrastructure projects that will be implemented during fiscal year 2020 and 2025, with the Centre contributing nearly 39 per cent towards these projects, states accounting for another 39 per cent and the private sector 22 per cent.

Of the total project capital expenditure during fiscals 2020 to 2025, sectors such as energy (24 per cent), urban (16 per cent), railways (13 per cent) and roads (19 per cent) are estimated to account for over 70 per cent of the projected infrastructure investments in India.

Port sector is estimated to attract investments of Rs 1.01 lakh crore during this period, including an estimated investment of Rs 16,128 crore in the next fiscal year, as per the Finance Ministry.