THE government, while admitting to delays in the construction of Mumbai Port Trust’s (MbPT) offshore container terminal (OCT), is hopeful of the initial phase of the project being completed by December. It attributed the delay to problems with contractors.
"The construction of offshore container terminal in Mumbai Port is going on. Due to delays by the build, operate and transfer (BOT) operator and dredging contractor, the project got delayed. The work is likely to be completed by December 2012," an official statement said.
"Both the Ministry of Shipping and Mumbai Port Trust are monitoring the progress of the work," it added.
MbPT has reportedly appointed an independent engineer for the approval of designs, quality control and to monitor progress of the BOT operator.
As per the licence agreement between MbPT and the Indira Container Terminal, the project was scheduled to be commissioned by December 2, 2010, according to Exim News Service.