Mumbai port looking at sites to set up bunker terminal

Mumbai port proposes to set up a bunker terminal to supply fuel to ships calling at the port.

The Port Trust has commissioned consultancy firm i-maritime to prepare a detailed project report, Chairman Rajeev Gupta told Business Line. Currently bunkering is done at the port through barges.    

“Traditionally, India has never been an attractive place for establishing a bunker terminal. However, the recent reductions in excise and custom duties on fuel give us the feeling that the time is right for a facility in Mumbai,” Gupta said. 

i-maritime was selected on the basis of a tender. There were three other bidders – Howe, Tata Consulting Engineers and Aurecon group – and i-maritime emerged as the lowest bidder, an official said.    

“We are currently evaluating two or three locations for the terminal; the study will tell us which is the best location and what would be the ideal business model for the terminal,” said Gupta.  Currently, Singapore and the Gulf countries are the major bunkering centres.

There has also been a proposal to start a floating bunker facility.

According to its Web site, iMaritime provides services such as business research, technical design consulting, container logistics, ship building and others.

The port is also studying the anchorage to see if it can be widened and deepened ‘to improve productivity’.

Land assets

Talking about the development plans, Gupta also said that the port is reviving its plans to monetise its real estate bank in the city. The port is working with consultancy firm KPMG to update its business plan on this front.

According to an earlier study carried out of KPMG, Mumbai Port Trust is the largest land owner in Mumbai city and at one point, it owned about one-eighth of the island’s area. Currently, the port owns more than 1,800 acres in the city.

 “We would like to unlock value of our land assets, but that will depend on the government approving the land policy for major ports as well as a more specific policy for the Mumbai port,” said Gupta.

He is also keen to work with urban planning groups so that an inclusive plan can be developed which could serve the port as well as the needs of the city.

The port is also setting up a cement terminal and the Aditya Birla Group's flagship company Ultratech emerged as the sole bidder to build the facility which would handle cement coming from its plants in Gujarat to Mumbai.  

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