HYDERABAD: GMR Infrastructure Ltd will be entering ports sector as it won the bid to develop greenfield commercial port in Kakinada on the eastern coast of India.
The port, to be located 30 km north from Kakinada, will be developed as an all-weather, deep-draft, multi-cargo port spread over 1,950 acres.
A leading infrastucture groups in India with presence in roads, airports and other sectors, GMR won the port contract through Swiss Challenge mode. Revenue share payable to Andhra Pradesh government under the bid is 2.7 per cent of gross revenue for a period of 30 years.
According to senior officials from AP government, while more than Rs 2,000 crore investment will go into the setting up of the port, the state government will provide external infrastructure like roads connecting the port to the nearest highway, water and power supply, among others, by spending about Rs 200 crore.
“The port is located at one of the strategic nodes of the Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor and is expected to benefit from the associated corridor developments. Given the strategic location, the port is expected to become the gateway to the east coast. Once operational, it will have an initial capacity of 16 MTA. This is an important milestone for the growth of GMR Group, in India and internationally.
This will augur a huge leap forward in upturning the economic development graph of the region, while spiralling up our port’s potential to attract even more prestigious clients, taking the project valuations up by many folds,” said BVN Rao, Business Chairman (Transportation & Urban Infrastructure), GMR Infrastructure.