New Mangalore Port to invest Rs7,100 crores

The New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), the seventh largest major port in India, is investing Rs7,100 crores (US$1.6 billion) to expand its infrastructure in two phases over the next seven years. The expansion plans involve construction of four new berths, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, container terminal and automation of an existing multi-purpose berth. This expansion will augment the cargo handling capacity of the port from the existing 38 million tons per annum (MTPA) to 52 MTPA. NMPT handled 34.5 million tons of cargo in 2005-2006. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) is constructing the new LNG terminal at a cost of Rs2,600 crores (US$586.51 million). The new container terminal will be constructed by NMPT at a cost of Rs700 crores (US$157.90 million). NMPT also has plans to invest Rs180 crores (US$40.60 million) to construct a captive jetty to import coal. (December 31, 2006)