JNPT, APSEZ and Veritas group vie for debt-laden Dighi Port
23 Nov 2018
Three prominent groups, including India’s biggest container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), private port developer Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) and a consortium of Veritas group companies have submitted bids for debt-laden Dighi Port Ltd, which has been put up for sale under the bankruptcy Act.
The Veritas consortium consists of Veritas (India) Ltd, Veritas Infra & Logistic Pvt Ltd and Veritas Polychem Pvt Ltd.
All three – JNPT, APSEZ and the Veritas group – have submitted resolution plans for Dighi Port Ltd that runs a greenfield port on the banks of Rajpuri creek in Maharashtra’s Raigad district.
The deadline for filing debt resolution plans for Dighi Port ended on Thursday. However, details of the resolution plans submitted by the three groups are not yet available.
Veritas, meanwhile, has a lease agreement with Dighi Port to set up some facilities, according to port officials.
Dighi Port owes Rs2,601.73 crore to a clutch of 16 lenders led by Bank of India.
For JNPT, which is located nearer to Dighi, in the same district, the acquisition will help expand operations and overcome space constraints. Dighi also would help JNPT develop a new hub-and-spoke model with JNPT at the centre.
For Adani, however, a port in Maharashtra would be an addition that would boost its nation-wide presence.
It is the first instance of a port (JNPT) owned by the centre looking to acquire a private port under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
JNPT plans to become a hub for 3-4 smaller ports nearby and bring cargo from those places through waterways.
Also, there is ready business available. The problem with Dighi Port, however, is winning the bid. The minimum deposit for the bid participant is over Rs2,100 crore, while Dighi is only worth around Rs800 crore.