The Hindu Business Line : Haldia dock keen to lease mobile cranes

Contract norms
The contract will be strictly between the dock authorities and the lessor.
The lessor will receive only the lease rent from the dock authorities.
The port users will pay the dock authorities for the services to be rendered by the cranes.

Kolkata , June 19

Several firms such as J.M. Baxi & Co, Ripley & Co, TM International Logistics, and Cardinal Logistics, among others, are believed to have sounded the Haldia dock authorities that they are prepared to offer two mobile cranes, which the dock authorities are keen to acquire on lease. Once acquired, the cranes are to be deployed on the berth no. 4B of the dock, it is learnt.

Terms of contract

The dock authorities are yet to firm up the details of the terms to be laid down for acquiring the cranes on lease. The contract will be strictly between the dock authorities and the lessor.

The lessor will receive only the lease rent from the dock authorities and will have nothing to do with the port users who will pay the dock authorities for the services to be rendered by the cranes.

The terms, once finalised, will be placed before the board of trustees for approval.

It might be noted that the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) had been functioning with a full board since April. The new board has been constituted and the first meeting of the reconstituted board is to be held towards the end of this month.

RTGs

Meanwhile, five rubber-tyred gantries (RTGs), supplied by Fels Cranes of Singapore, have arrived at Haldia. Four of these cranes are to be installed at the Haldia dock and the fifth one at the Kolkata Dock System.

The order for the cranes was placed with the Singapore firm in January 2005. The five cranes cost KoPT about Rs 27 crore. The dock sources indicate that the cranes will be commissioned within the next two weeks or so.

The RTGs will be used for handling containers in the backup area developed in land adjacent to the berth numbers 10 and 11 of the dock.

The mechanised handling facilities for containers are being augmented at the Haldia dock at a time when the container throughput is showing a downward trend.

The throughput so far in the current year has been around 22,000 TEUs, much less than that in the same period of the last year.