Procuring cargo-handling cranes from China will not be a hurdle for the upcoming International Multi-Purpose Deepwater Seaport at Vizhinjam.
The seaport got a breather as the Centre has made it clear that the new order will apply only to fresh tenders for public procurement.
The restrictions on port operators using Chinese gear has come at a time when Adani Vizhinjam Ports Private Ltd (AVPPL), the multi-port operator of the ambitious project, was gearing up 0for taking delivery of eight shore cranes and 24 yard cranes from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd (ZPMC), the world’s largest port crane maker.
₹1,500 cr. for 32 cranes
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) have sourced most of their cranes from Chinese suppliers and the orders for 32 cranes, estimated to cost around ₹1,500 crore, for the Vizhinjam seaport went to ZPMC.
Of the 32 cranes ordered for the seaport, eight are rail mounted quay cranes, each worth ₹75 crore and with an outreach of 65 metres, and the remaining cantilever rail mounted gantry cranes.
“The orders were placed by AVPPL three years ago. The new norms are not with retrospective effect”, a top AVPPL official told The Hindu. As per the order issued on Thursday, bidders from countries sharing a land border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement whether of goods, services or works only if they are registered with the Competent Authority. Political and security clearance from the Union Ministries of External and Home Affairs has also been made mandatory.
Aimed to strengthen defence and national security in the wake of the recent border conflicts, the norms are applicable to autonomous bodies, Central Public Sector Enterprises and Public Private Partnership projects receiving financial support from the government or its undertakings.
As the upcoming seaport at Vizhinjam is a PPP project and the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) from the Centre is ₹818 crore, placing the order three years ago has helped AVPPL to get the cranes.
