Karaikal Port project attains financial closure

Mumbai: MARG Construction Ltd on Monday announced financial closure of its Karaikal port project in Tamil Nadu, which is being developed through its wholly owned subsidiary, Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd.

The project, being undertaken on BOT basis, involves a capital outlay of Rs 416 crore, of which Rs 302 crore forms the debt component and Rs 114 crore, equity.

The debt has been raised from a consortium of five banks and a financial institution, led by Indian Bank, with the other partners being Oriental Bank of Commerce, State Bank of Hyderabad, Corporation Bank, Allahabad Bank and India Infrastructure Finance Company.

Mr B.G. Menon, CEO (Infrastructure Business Unit) of MARG, said the port would cater to the major industrial belts of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, with the major cargoes being textiles, textile machinery, cement, agro-products and chemical fertilisers.

Located between Chennai and Tuticorin, the all-weather, deep-water port at Karaikal is expected to handle four million tonnes of cargo in the first phase.

This phase of port design and development includes the construction of two berths, dredging and reclamation of land, construction of berths and breakwater, construction of utility space, storage areas and other works.

The channel would be dredged to a depth of 13 m and the turning circle and the berth area to a depth of 12 m.