Mahathi Cuddalore Port and Maritime Pvt Ltd is planning to develop the Cuddalore port. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat in the presence of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
The agreement was entered between the special purpose vehicle (SPV) Mahathi Cuddalore Port and Maritime Pvt. Ltd and the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board for operating the Cuddalore minor port.
The Tamil Nadu Maritime Board in February invited expressions of interest from private companies to operate the port. The Hyderabad-based Mahathi Infra Services Pvt. Ltd (MISPL) was selected to undertake operations and formed a SPV, says a release.
The defunct Cuddalore port due to continuous silting, was developed at a cost of ₹160 crore on extension of North and South breakwater, construction of wharfs 1 & 2 (240 m in length) and dredging of approach channel to around 9 m.
It is an intermediate anchorage port situated at the confluence of the Rivers Uppanar & Paravanar on the Bay of Bengal. The depth available at the port entrance is about 2.5 metres at low tide time and 3-4 m depth is available alongside the wharf.
TN Venkatesh, Vice Chairman & CEO, TNMB, said, that the project has been given to the company under the private-public-partnership mode for 40 years. The company will spend nearly ₹200 crore in developing the infrastructure in the first two years. It will handle a minimum of 3 lakh tonnes per annum and pay the Board $32 per tonne. The company will handle chemical-based product.
CARE Ratings in a report in September 2024 said MISPL for around 15 years has been executing work orders for manufacturing and setup of oil and gas infrastructure projects in India and Africa. It also manufactures boilers and pressure vessels in a facility at Choutuppal, Hyderabad for Indian and other foreign markets.
As on June 30, 2024, MISPLs order book position stood at ₹734.70 crore, which translates to 1.76x of the gross billing for FY24 with execution timeline of next 12 months. MISPL provides EPC services to reputed clientele like Arcelor Mittal Liberia Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Numaligarh Refinery Limited. It has diversified geographical presence where the current order book is spread across three countries India, Liberia and Uganda, the report said.
Points to ponder
Cuddalore Port – Concession Agreement- Salient Features.
Mode of Concession: Operation, Maintenance & Marketing of the existing Port.
Period : 40 years (including 2 years Moratorium period)
Concessionaire : MAHATHI CUDDALORE PORT & MARITIME PRIVATE LIMITED
Minimum Guarantee Throughput (Cargo): 1st year -3 Lakh tonnes increase gradually and reaches maximum of 35 lakh tonnes at 19th year till 40th year.
Price will be escalated by 15% once in 3 years cumulatively.
Port dues from Ship owners or their agents payable directly to TNMB as per Scale of rates.
Extent of back up land given to the concessionaire : About 111 acres.
Land licence fee payable to TNMB : 1st year – ₹10 Lakh increase gradually and reaches Rs.18.73 Crores at 40th year.
