The Hindu Business Line : P&O Ports seeks time to reply to show-cause

P&O Ports, which recently received a show-cause notice from the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to explain why its licence to operate the Mundra International Container Terminal should not be cancelled, has sought time till the month-end to reply to the notice.

The UK container company's operations in India received a jolt in the wake of GMB slapping a show-cause notice on the container company.

P&O Ports has been asked to show-cause why its licence to operate the Mundra terminal should not be cancelled by GMB, after it bought out the Mundra terminal from Adani Port Ltd.

Confirming the development, Mr H.K. Dash, CEO and Vice-Chairman of GMB, said the board would wait till the month-end to get P&O's reply.

"There are adequate conditions in the concession agreement to deliver the show-cause notice. We will decide on our next course of action after we receive its (P&O's) reply," he told Business Line on the sidelines of a seminar on Coastal Trade and Opportunities in Mumbai on Friday.

Mr Dash said the board's concession agreement to run the Mundra terminal was concluded with Adani Port, with the agreement specifying that any dilution of stake should be done only after the board's approval. But GMB was not informed that P&O was taking over the terminal from Adani Ports.

The board is the regulatory authority for ports in Gujarat at any point of time.

Rs 145-cr investments

Meanwhile, GMB has proposed investments to the tune of Rs 145 crore in the next fiscal to develop port infrastructure in Gujarat.

According to Mr Dash, the expansion programme includes development of a fishery project at Okha and another Rs 45-crore project to develop connectivity between Bedi and Porbundar.

The board is also in the process of conducting a feasibility study for development of the old port of Cambay at Khambat.

Mr Dash said the board had recently cleared the proposal for development of a solid cargo jetty at Dahej jointly by Petronet LNG and Adani Port at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore.

The jetty will be handling solid cargoes such as cement and coal with an initial capacity of two million tonnes, which can later be upgraded to six mt.