Guj Pipavav Port to hike tariff soon

PIPAVAV: Gujarat Pipavav Port (GPPL), controlled by AP Moller-Maersk Group, would shortly revise the tariff at its port in the country���s west coast. The company said that the rates would be revised within two weeks to recover the cost and factor in the inflationary effect over the last three years.

It last revised its rate in 2006 following permission from the Gujarat Maritime Board.

���We will review the tariff in the next two weeks. The fixed as well as variable costs keep changing and we have to recover our costs,��� managing director Prakash Tulsiani said.

Without elaborating the current tariff, Mr Tulsiani said that the port���s rates were lowest in the country compared to the rates of 12 major ports owned by the government and one in Mundra handled by the Adanis.

APM Terminals has invested Rs 1,100 crore in developing the facility at Pipavav. It is expected to further make investments in adding up capacity as the private port operator plans to handle automotive, petroleum products and perishable items.

GPPL chief commercial officer Ashley Dinning said the company was holding preliminary discussions with various auto as well as auto-ancillary manufacturers to provide the port infrastructure.