Crane, equipment suppliers eye pvt sector for biz

Kolkata: The suppliers of cranes and other material handling equipment, who till recently depended on Government ports, now look forward to either private sector ports or other core sectors such as power, steel, coal and cement for business.

The reason is simple: the promised projects in Government ports are not materialising as expected for a variety of reasons. The decision making process is slow and the terms and conditions are often steep enough to scare the prospective bidders away. There have been instances where the response to the bids invited by some of these ports has been limited.

Low pvt participation


Precisely for the same reason, the private sector participation in Government port projects has so far been on a low key. One wonders if the projected Rs 72,000 crore or so of investment in the port sector, the bulk of which to be made by the private sector, will materialise within the stipulated time.

The equipment suppliers are pinning a good deal of hope on private port projects on the east coast at Dhamra and Gopalpur in Orissa, Machhlipattam, Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh and Ennore and Karaikal in Tamil Nadu. The hope has been bolstered by the fact that financial closure of the projects at Karaikal, Machhlipatnam and Krishnapatnam will be finalised shortly.

Also, concessional agreements have been signed already for two terminals at Ennore, one for handling coal and the other for iron ore. However, what is causing concern at the same time is that some of the projects such as those at Dhamra, Gopalpur and Gangavaram are not making much headway.

New projects


On the west coast, new projects include the one at Ratnagiri where Tata Power is planning to launch a port and the Reliance Group an even bigger port complete with a Special Economic Zone.

Tata Power is also building a jetty at Mumbai while the new constructions for handling bulk materials are being planned at Mundra and Dahej.

There is a proposal for a shipyard at Pipavav.

What has been encouraging for the equipment suppliers is the huge demand being generated for their products by the sectors like power, steel, mining and cement.

Almost all these sectors are on the upswing creating huge demand for handling material equipment.