Mumbai port to privatise terminals

The Mumbai Port Trust plans to privatise four bulk cargo terminals at the Indira Docks as part of its strategy to modernise port facilities.

This comes shortly after the good response it got from private parties in setting up an off-shore container terminal.

The board has already approved the proposal and the port is expected to come out with the tenders soon.

"The idea is to mechanise operations at the terminals which have been losing traffic since the last few years. With mechanisation, the port expects to achieve better efficiency and double its bulk traffic," a Mumbai Port official told Business Standard on Thursday.

The port handled about a million tonne of bulk traffic in 2004-05, which was half the number it handled in 2001-02. The project will cost about Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion), sources said.

Apart from mechanisation, the port also plans to improve depth in order to handle larger vessels.

The port will go for a reconstruction of harbour wall berths, which will enable it to receive vessels with a capacity of 45,000 deadweight tonnage instead of the present capacity of 25,000-35,000 Dwt. The port has appointed a consultant, Howe India Ltd to prepare the feasibility report for the Rs 115 crore (Rs 1.15 billion) project.

The port is also trying hard to win customers by offering concessions. For instance, it is in the process of formulating a concession plan for cargo handled at anchorage points. It has also got necessary clearances to handle coal for the first time.

Vessels at anchorage points do not unload at the berth, and the port is willing to give concessions on such cargo handling charges. The concession will however be available only if the cargo brought in by a vessel crosses a certain level.

This year the port will be handling about 1 mn tonne of coal, and service companies like Tata Power Company and Maharashtra State Electricity Board. Earlier, the coastal coal trade used to go to the neighboring state port of Dharamtar, officials said.

The port is also looking at expanding its capacity to handle liquid cargo. It plans to construct a second liquid terminal at Pir Pau with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes. It also plans to set up a Marine Oil Terminal to handle large tankers.