JSW Infrastructure Ltd and a consortium of Bothra Group and Kakinada Seaports Ltd are competing to operate the upcoming Ramayapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district. The Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board (APMB) has invited bids to develop, operate and maintain the port, with the highest revenue-sharing offer determining the successful bidder. Initial bids closed on Thursday.
Being developed by the State government under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model at an investment of ₹4,929.39 crore, the port’s first phase will have four berths—one for coal and three multipurpose berths—with an annual cargo-handling capacity of 34.04 million tonnes. Construction is expected to be completed by December 2026.
The winning operator will receive a 30-year concession, extendable by up to 20 years, and must pay a non-refundable upfront premium of ₹1,500 crore, in addition to revenue share and other contractual payments. The premium is payable in two equal instalments—within 30 days of the concession award and within 30 days of the Commercial Operations Date (COD).
The operator’s annual payment to the government will be the higher of the quoted revenue share on gross revenue or the stipulated minimum guaranteed revenue. The minimum guarantee starts at ₹10 crore annually for the first five years, rising to ₹50 crore for years 6–10, ₹100 crore for years 11–15 and ₹150 crore from year 16 onwards. Revenue share will increase by one percentage point every three years from the 20th anniversary of COD, subject to a maximum cap of 25%.
A key feature of the concession is the APMB’s non-dilutable 12% equity stake in the port-operating special purpose vehicle (SPV), granted in consideration for the land provided, without any cash investment. The stake will remain intact throughout the concession, including extensions, and will not offset or reduce any payment obligations of the private operator. This is the first time such a non-dilutable equity clause has been incorporated into an Indian port contract.
The first phase is designed to accommodate Panamax vessels of up to 80,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT), requiring a draft of around 16 metres. The proposed second phase will expand capacity to 138.54 million tonnes annually through 19 berths, involving an investment of ₹6,904 crore. With a planned depth of 20.2 metres, the expanded port is expected to handle Capesize vessels of up to 200,000 DWT.
Meanwhile, Ramayapatnam Port Development Corporation, the project SPV, has refinanced a ₹3,938.10-crore loan originally sanctioned by Power Finance Corporation with a loan from Sagarmala Finance Corporation Ltd. The new loan carries an interest rate of 8.60%, compared with the earlier facility’s 10.40% pre-COD and 9.65% post-COD rates, and offers a longer repayment tenure of 16 years and three months.
Located along the Bay of Bengal, Ramayapatnam Port benefits from multimodal connectivity, lying about 5.5 km from National Highway 16 and 5 km from Thettu railway station. The APMB has developed the first phase across approximately 850.79 acres, which will be allotted to the successful bidder under the concession agreement. Additional land for future expansion will be provided on lease.
The port is expected to strengthen Andhra Pradesh’s maritime infrastructure, expand cargo-handling capacity and improve connectivity for regional industries and export-import trade.