A tender to build a container terminal with a capacity of 4 million TEU in the port’s outer harbor has been withdrawn by the V O Chidambaranar (VOC) Port Authority in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.
The proposal was canceled because the two original bidding firms did not match the qualification requirements for this Rs 7,055.95 crore project, which was supposed to be funded privately.
The port authority cancelled the tender for “administrative reasons,” although they did not elaborate. Vedanta Ltd, an Indian division of London-listed Vedanta Resources, and Premier Science and Technology FZE, a newly formed company in the United Arab Emirates with no prior port operations experience, were among the bids, which caused the port industry to question its validity.
According to a report by the Economic Times, Vedanta and Premier Science and Technology were unable to move forward because they lacked the necessary technical skills.
This setback comes just after Cabinet approval in February, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone. The abrupt cancellation has sparked conjecture in industry circles, particularly following high-profile support.
