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Westport,
close on heels following its
recent expression of interest in
managing Belawan port in northern
Sumatera, Indonesia, has now cast
its eyes even further to India.
Westport
executive chairman, Tan Sri G
Gnanalingam said in Mumbai last
week that the company was
interested in taking over the
Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai
and developing it into a
transhipment hub.
"If
we are given an opportunity we
would like to develop Jawaharlal
Nehru Port (JNP) as a modern hub
port," he said.
JNP,
India’s largest container port
is located within the Mumbai
harbour on west coast of India.
It
has two dedicated terminals,
namely a container terminal with
680 meters quay length (three
berths) and a bulk terminal with
712 meters quay line (three
berths) JPN has a capacity to
handle 13.5 million tonnes per
annum including 7.5 million tonnes
containerized cargo, dry bulk 3.5
million tonnes and liquid bulk
(and miscellaneous commodities)
2.5 million tonnes.
He
said Westport, which operates a
RM3 billion port in Malaysia, was
keen on developing container
terminals at JNP and Cochin port.
Westport,
which a joint venture between
Kelang Multi Terminal and
Hutchison Port Holdings, would bid
for re-development of a bulk
terminal into a container terminal
of a capacity not less than one
million TEUs at JNP, he said.
In
addition, it would also bid for
the Cochin container terminal when
it is put up for privatization,
said Gnanalingam, who two months
ago visited Belawan with the
Minister of Transport Datuk Dr
Ling Liong Sik and Port Klang
Authority general manager, Datin
Paduka O C Phang with a view to
managing the largest northern
Indonesian port.
Closer
to home, Westport is also known to
have submitted a proposal to the
government to take over Penang
Port in a bid to divert the
traffic from the northern
Peninsular Malaysian port to be
transshipped via Westport.
It
is understood the privatization of
Penang Port, which will be last of
the federal ports to be hived-off,
has attracted other contenders as
well.
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