The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bids for coal, iron ore terminals in Ennore port finalised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 25, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bids for coal, iron ore terminals in Ennore port finalised

N. Ravi Kumar

CHENNAI: Residents of north Chennai, who were put to much hardship due to the dust from the cargoes handled by the port, will soon be able to breathe easy. For, the proposed coal and iron ore terminals at Ennore port are all set to take shape.

The financial bids for the coal terminal were opened earlier this month, and the contract would be awarded to a Chennai-based firm, whose offer of 52.524 per cent revenue share was the highest, said Chennai Port Trust Chairman K. Suresh, who holds additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director of Ennore Port Limited (EPL).

The operator would be required to invest Rs. 300 crore in the terminal. It would have the capacity to handle eight million tonnes of coal annually, he told The Hindu . Another company that had offered a revenue share of 51.6 per cent had bagged the BOT contract for the 12 MT iron ore terminal. The proposed investment would be Rs. 350 crore.

The BOT operator for the liquid (cargo) terminal had also been finalised. With this, the Ennore port was poised to become "the energy port," Mr. Suresh said.

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