India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) has scrapped the tenders floated a year ago to buy cranes and other container handling equipment for Chabahar Port, further delaying an overseas venture already complicated by the impact of US sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, reports ET Infra.
India Ports Global issued a tender in September 2022, the third since 2017, to buy four new post Panamax size ship-to-shore or so-called rail mounted quay cranes (RMQCs) of 65-ton capacity each.
Separately, India Ports Global issued tenders for buying 14 new Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGCs) of 40-ton capacity each, three all-terrain yard cranes of 100-ton capacity each, three rough terrain yard cranes of 60-ton capacity each, two reach stackers, two empty container handlers, forklifts, terminal tractors, and trailers.
The timeline for submitting offers on these tenders have been repeatedly extended by India Ports Global as bidders were unwilling to place quotations in the face of sanctions imposed by the west on Iran.
On Monday (18 September), India Ports Global discharged all the tenders without attributing any reasons. It is not clear what India Ports Global plans to do for buying the equipment which is part of the agreement signed with Iran to develop Chabahar Port.
The delay in erecting RMQCs and procuring other gears has derailed the official start to the ten-year contract for operating Chabahar Port.
