APMT cleared to bid on new Nhava Sheva terminal

APMT cleared to bid on new Nhava Sheva terminal    An India Supreme Court decision has paved the way for terminal operator APM Terminals to bid on a new container terminal development in the Nhava Sheva port complex, India's largest container gateway.
   According to a report Thursday by Indian business newspaper Mint, APMT and fellow operator PSA International had petitioned the high court to re-examine a statute that prevents existing terminal operators from bidding on second facilities in a particular port. APMT, which operates one of three terminals in Nhava Sheva (a joint venture with state-owned Container Corp. of India) wants to bid on a fourth terminal. PSA, meanwhile, wants to bid on a second terminal in the southern port of Tuticorin, where it operates the existing terminal.
   The court decided to allow APMT to bid on the fourth Nhava Sheva terminal, but will not allow PSA to bid on the second Tuticorin terminal on the basis that it is the only operator and would have a monopolistic position in the port.
   DP World and the Indian government run the other two terminals at Nhava Sheva, which handles more than half the country's container volume and is operating at about 115 percent of design capacity. The new terminal, as envisioned, would roughly double annual handling capacity.