
Government-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Adani Ports and Veritas India along with asset reconstruction company UV ARC have put in bids for the bankrupt Dighi Port, which was developed by IL&FS and Balaji Infra Projects. They submitted the bid to the committee of creditors in Mumbai on Thursday November 23.

The port was handling cargo such as Bauxite, Coal and Steel on a regular basis. The port successfully handled Post Panamax and Capesize vessels having a DWT of up to 1,55,000 MTs. The port has been operating at low utilisation levels due to lack of rail and road connectivity combined with the general disruption in global trade. The port promoters were seeking strategic investors.
Dighi Port was declared bankrupt and overtaken by National Company Law Tribunal in April after it failed to pay INR 2,607 crore to a consortium of 15 lenders led by Bank of India. A senior banker from the consortium confirmed that they had received bids from three companies.
The port had a 50-year concession agreement with Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) on a build, own, operate, share, transfer basis.
"Due to connectivity issues in the hinterland the port with a 30 million tonne capacity to handle bauxite and coal could only start partial operations, making it unviable to service the debt," said a banker.
JNPT announced in March 2017 that it had excess cash reserves of INR 4,500 crore, which it WOULD utilise to purchase smaller port facilities. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) is the country's largest port developer and operator with 10 ports and terminals on both the western and eastern coasts under its belt.
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