Even as the Hong Kong-based Noble Group has decided to quit Gopalpur Port (GPL) consortium, the two other partners, Orissa Stevedores (OSL) and Sara International, have announced that they are not going to take a third partner in place of Noble Group.
?We have no intention of having a third partner in place of Noble Group at this moment,? Gopalpur Port chairman DP Singh said. ?There is no need of a new partner now as the two promoters have the required financial strength to execute the project,? he added.
Gopalpur Port MD Mahimananda Mishra said Noble Group’s exit will have no effect on the port project. He further said Rs 848.78 crore financial closure by the Punjab National Bank-led syndicate of 11 banks is based on the balance sheet of OSL and Sara International.
Mishra claimed that Noble Group had decided to exit the consortium as it shifted its investment priorities to China and Brazil against India. Pointing out that Noble Group was not involved in the project from the beginning, the company MD said the company has contributed nothing towards its equity. The equity holding of the company is 0.004% in the project, he added.
Noble Group has applied to the state government for exit from the consortium, said Mishra, adding, that the state government is going to take a decision on it soon. He said there is a provision in the concession agreement (CA) for exit of partners from the consortium with the permission of the state government.
In the absence of Noble Group, the GPL has not only made the Gopalpur fair-weather port operational but also shared revenue with the state government. The port is expected to achieve 1 million tonne cargo handling this fiscal, Mishra said. Asserting that the Gopalpur Port would become a all-weather deep draft port with three berths by 2012, the managing director said the project would start soon after it got environment clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which is expected in the next few weeks.