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P&O selected to manage, operate Chennai terminal

Our Bureau

MUMBAI, June 23

P&O PORTS has been selected as the preferred tenderer to manage and operate the Chennai Container Terminal, an official statement from the port developer said.

``The length of the exclusive concession is 30 years and it is expected that a letter of intent will be issued shortly,'' it said. Chennai is the largest port on the country's east coast and the second biggest container handling port after the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

P&O Ports already operates the privately-owned Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT) at the latter location.

It is expected that P&O Ports will invest $ 100 millions on terminal re-development at Chennai during the first five years of the concession, the statement said. Container throughput at the port which was 330,000 TEUs in 1999 has averaged 12 per cent gro wth per annum over the last 12 years.

Currently, the terminal has a quay length of 600 mts and a draft of 13.4 mts. Further 350 mts of quay line is under construction and will be operational by 2001.

``Chennai is one of the two principal ports (the other port is JNP) we targeted in India. We are very happy to be involved in both the ports and will ensure that the same standards established at NSICT will be applied at Chennai Container Terminal,'' Cap t. Jimmy Sarbh, Regional Director (South Asia & Middle East), P&O Ports, said.