Mumbai: India's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) board has cleared Netherland-based Van Oord's bid for its Rs 800 crore ($199m) project. Although the bid must receive clearance by the Public Investment Board and Centre, Van Oord is likely to win the project as it put forth the lower bid. Although the tender states that the contract will be officially awarded by the end of August, Government clearance in India is often a long process taking over 3 months at a time.
Phase one of the project will see dredging of JNPT's approach channel from 12mtr to 14mtr to allow vessels with a 6,000teu capacity to enter the port. The first phase is expected to take 27 months to complete and is expected to go over the original $199m budget due to the delay in awarding the contract, reports the Economic Times.
Phase two, slated to begin construction in early 2010, will see the channel deepened to 15mtr to accommodate 9,000teu vessels. [23/07/07]
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