India’s V.O. Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, has floated a tender inviting bidders to build a 4 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) capacity container terminal to be located in the port’s outer harbour.

As one of the major ports of India, the second largest in Tamil Nadu and the third largest container terminal in the country, V.O. Chidambaranar Port is strategically located near the East-West International sea routes, on the Gulf of Mannar.

In response to the tender, a consortium led by the Abu Dhabi Ports Group is said to have filed an initial bid. Vedanta Ltd. is reportedly another noted bidder for the tender with an attractive investment of $845 million.

It is speculated that Abu Dhabi Ports Group may not win the bid owing to its container terminal being operational at Karachi Port, Pakistan. Its business dealings with COSCO Shipping Corporation Ltd. in China is another setback in this scenario. – editor @nrifocus.com