KANDLA Port Trust (KPT), one of the major ports on the northwest coast of India, has submitted bids for feasibility studies of a container terminal at its Tuna-Tekra port some 20 kilometres away from its main port at Kenda.

Twelve engineering firms have submitted bids for setting up a terminal at Tuna-Tekra including Tata group-owned Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd and Consulting Engineering Services (India) Private Limited (CES), report New Delhi's Business Standard.

The reconnaissance survey includes layout of the port, soil profile, existing facilities of the port which include a barge jetty for handling dry cargo and coastal shipping. It expects an engineer advisor to be named within four months from the bidding deadline in March.

In an interview with India's Business Standard, an official said the need for a new terminal is crucial with Kandla operating at full capacity and demand growing, two of its 12 berths handle 7.2 million TEU annually.

The projected cost of development of two container handling berths at Tuna-Tekra with an annual capacity of 14.11 million tonnes is set at INR10,600 million (US$196.5 million).

Back in February, KPT awarded a BOT (build, operate and transfer) project for a dry bulk terminal at Tekra to ports arm of Adani group in a public-private partnership (PPP) model.