Adani Ports, MEIL and Vishwa Samudra in race for ₹11,733-crore VOC Port outer harbour project

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) and Vishwa Samudra Engineering Pvt Ltd are in the race to secure the ₹11,733-crore outer harbour infrastructure project at VO Chidambaranar (VOC) Port in Thoothukudi.

Sources in the VOC Port Authority (VOCPA) confirmed that the three companies are competing for the project, which will be executed under the hybrid annuity model (HAM).

The project is part of the overall ₹17,167-crore outer harbour development plan aimed at expanding the port’s maritime infrastructure and strengthening Thoothukudi’s long-term position in India’s international trade and connectivity network.

The overall project comprises harbour infrastructure development costing ₹11,733 crore and a container terminal, to be developed in two phases, at an estimated cost of ₹5,434 crore. The container terminal will be implemented under the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) model, according to the port authority.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) recently approved the project, paving the way for the creation of major new harbour infrastructure and additional container-handling capacity at the port.

In December, VOCPA floated the tender for the outer harbour development project for the third time, switching to the hybrid annuity model in an attempt to attract greater private-sector participation.

The project was originally envisaged under the design-build-finance-operate-transfer model. However, the port authority later opted for HAM, a financing and execution framework widely used in the road infrastructure sector, to improve the project’s attractiveness to private developers.

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