Press Trust of India reported that Vedanta group firm Sterlite Industries plans to commission the coal handling facility at Visakhapatnam port by July 2012, a project that entails an investment of about INR 675 crore.

The report quoted a source as saying that “It is on schedule, we plan to commission it by mid 2012, likely by July 2012.”

The Vedanta group arm had won the project to set up the mechanized facility for handling coking and steam coal on general cargo berth from Vizag Port last year in partnership with Leighton Contractors India, the Indian subsidiary of the Australian diversified group Leighton Contractors.

The coal berth would have a cargo handling facility of 10.18 million tonnes per annum with an estimated cost of USD 150 million.

The project is being developed on a revenue share basis and Sterlite had quoted a revenue share of 38.1% in its bid for the 30 year contract.

The Tariff Authority for Major Ports, the tariff regulator for centre owned 13 ports, had fixed a coal handling rate of INR 131.94 per tonne at the new berth and going by it, Sterlite would be sharing INR 50.26 per tonne of the revenue earned from handling the cargo at the port.

(Sourced from PTI)