The JNPT will open the bids for the fourth container terminal tomorrow, a port official said.
The short-listed bidders include DP World, Port of Singapore Authority, GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd and Sterlite Industries.
Adanai Enterprises also was short-listed but was denied security clearance by the Government. The matter is in the court.
The project was delayed as APM terminals, which was not permitted to bid for the project (on the ground that it was already running a terminal at the same port) had gone to the court. APM won the case but backed out of the tender at the last moment.
It was because of the APM terminal that the project was delayed. And now they not only backed out of the tender but also saying that the project is not viable, said an official associated with the tender process.
If the cost of the project has gone up, it was because of the delay and APM themselves are responsible for it, he added.