Mumbai-listed Ganesh Benzoplast Ltd has secured the rights to operate and maintain the Eastern Quay Berth-10 (EQ-10) at Visakhapatnam Port for 10 years, after quoting a revenue share of 5 per cent, according to sources.
A letter of award was issued last week for the 10-year contract, structured as five years plus an additional five-year extension. The berth has a handling capacity of about 1.25 million tonnes (mt) of liquid cargo.
Ganesh Benzoplast, one of India’s leading liquid storage facility operators with a tankage capacity of 3.3 lakh kilolitres across three ports, is also the largest logistics service provider in liquid commodities in the Mumbai region.
This marks the third cargo handling contract awarded on an operation and maintenance (O&M) basis by the Visakhapatnam Port Authority, a model gaining ground as an alternative to the public-private partnership (PPP) route. The O&M framework is viewed as less risky and litigation-free compared to PPP concessions.
The EQ-10 berth was earlier allotted to AVR Infra Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of IMC Ltd, on a 30-year PPP basis, but the deal was terminated after defaults on minimum guaranteed throughput obligations. The port authority later shifted to the O&M model, under which it collects revenue from users and shares a portion with the berth operator.
Vedanta Ltd and an IMC subsidiary were also in the fray, offering revenue shares of about 45 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively. Industry executives, however, noted that the lower 5 per cent quote by Ganesh Benzoplast is not surprising.
“In oil trade, earnings come mainly from storage revenue, not wharfage. The port’s wharfage share is marginal, so it’s difficult to judge whether 5 per cent is high or low,” said a port industry executive.
The success of the O&M model is reflected in the investments by private operators. Last year, Green Energy Resources Ports Pvt Ltd, which bagged a six-year O&M contract for the EQ-1A berth, installed two new harbour mobile cranes worth ₹130 crore—an unprecedented move under such a short tenure. In contrast, a 30-year PPP project at the same port added just one crane at a cost of ₹66 crore.
“The O&M model ensures zero liability for the port authority and offers flexibility to terminate contracts with just three months’ notice. This is the future of port asset privatisation,” said another industry source.
However, critics caution that O&M is best suited for small brownfield facilities and may not be viable for greenfield terminals requiring large upfront investments.
