A positive sign has emerged after the signing of the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) aimed at boosting investments between India and the United Arab Emirates.
A consortium, comprising DP World and Mumbai-based JM Baxi Group, has been selected to build and operate a new container terminal at Visakhapatnam, reported The Hindu.
The consortium, which already operates the Visakhapatnam Container Terminal, was the lone bidder for the project.
The new terminal is to be built at the site of the existing terminal to accommodate larger ships, said officials. They added that the project is on a build-operate-transfer basis for a period of 30 years. Financial details could not be ascertained.
DP World, the world's third-largest port operator, said in July last year that it would invest about US$200 million in building a new container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) near Mumbai.
The terminal is to be built next to the Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal, which DP World operates, and is expected to help ease congestion at JNPT.
Moreover, in March last year, DP World's Vallarpadam terminal received its first transhipment mainline service, becoming India's first and only transhipment hub. However, officials added that though DP World aims to expand its operations in Indian ports, it is concerned about protection of its investments without BIPPA.
"DP World currently operates five Indian terminals. Its Asia-Pacific and Indian subcontinent region has been the main driver of volume growth in the first six months of 2012, reporting a 12.1 percent increase in volumes," officials said, adding that the signing of the BIPPA had "clarified any lingering doubts with regards to investment."
The BIPPA agreement is expected to result in the UAE investing over $2 billion in Indian infrastructure projects.
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