The Goa-based Chowgule Group expects its Jaigad port project in Maharashtra to be operational by the first quarter of next fiscal. The work on the multi-cargo port on the Konkan coast, 110 nautical miles south of Mumbai, was stared in June last year.
The project which also includes a ship repair yard, is estimated to cost Rs 1,000 crore, said Mr M.P. Patwardhan, Managing Director, Chowgule Ports and Infrastructure, the company that is executing the project.
“The project is funded on a debt-equity ratio of 70:30 and the debt portion has already been tied-up,” he said.
The promoters have already invested around Rs 200 crore. The Maharashtra Maritime Board, is likely to pick up 11 per cent stake in the project, a government official said.
According to Mr Atul Kulkarni, CEO of Chowgule Ports, the group has the advantage that it owned part of the 270 acres land acquired for the project. The company also has another 100 acres of land within 10 km of the port, which can be used by the ancillary units and port service providers, Mr Kulkarni said.
The port will have a draught of 10 meters which will enable it to handle 40,000 to 50,000 dead weight tonnage (dwt) ships, he said. Initially, the port will handle bulk cargo such as food grains, sugar and bauxite. Facilities for handling container and POL cargo will be developed subsequently.
To aid Regional exporters
The port will serve hinterland areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka and even a large city like Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. It will help export of local agriculture products such as mango and cashew nuts. The company is not very keen to handle coal and iron ore as it does have a railway siding, Mr Patwardhan said
“The idea is to give the regional exporters of fish and mangoes service at their door step. They will fill the containers in their own backyards and directly export the products to Dubai or any other port from Jaigad. Today the export items are first sent to Mumbai and then they are exported to other places. Imagine what will be the cost savings for exporters,” Mr Patwardhan said.
Bauxite exports
The company is also seeing good business from export of bauxite, Mr Patwardhan said. He added that bauxite export has picked up in the last seven years from Konkan. Transshipment of bauxite is already happening from Jaigad port. For the Konkan-based mining companies the export of bauxite will become more viable once the port is commissioned.
Ship repair yard
Along with the port the company is also setting up a ship repair facility for vessels up to 10,000 dwt. The company is looking at repairing offshore supply and other smaller vessels. The repair yard will have a ‘ship lift' facility which will lift the entire ship and place it on land for repairs. This will help the yard to repair six ships at a time, said Mr Kulkarni.