New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved development of Container Terminal at Tuna-Tekra, Deendayal Port under the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode.

The estimated cost of Rs 4,243.64 crore will be on the part of the Concessionaire and an estimated cost of common user facilities of Rs 296.20 crore will be on the part of the Concessioning Authority toward development of common user facilities.

The project will cater to the future growth in Container Cargo traffic.

From 2025, a net gap of 1.88 Million TEUs shall be available which can be catered by Tuna-Tekra Development of a state-of-the-art container terminal at Tuna-Tekra will give it a strategic advantage as it will be the closed container terminal serving the vast hinterland of northern part of India (Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan).

In addition to increasing the business potential of Kandla, the project will boost the economy and generate employment.

The project is proposed to be developed on BOT basis by a private developer or Build Operate & Transfer (BOT) Operator to be selected through an international competitive bidding process.

The Concessionaire will be responsible for the design, engineering, financing, procurement, implementation commissioning, operation, management and maintenance of the Project under the Concession Agreement to be executed by the Concessionaire (BOT Operator) and the Concession Authority (Deendayal Port Authority) for a period of 30 years for handling designated cargos.

The project consists of construction of an off-shore berthing structure for handling three vessels at a time with allied facilities at cost of Rs 4,243.64 crore and handling capacity of 2.19 million TEUs per annum.