MANILA global port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) has signed an agreement to develop, manage and operate the Kattupalli Container Terminal now under construction in southern India's Tamil Nadu.

    According to a company statement, the Kattupalli terminal will be ICTSI's first venture in India. The terminal is located near Chennai in Thiruvallur District.

    The deal was also signed by L&T Shipbuilding (LTSB), an engineering, construction and manufacturing firm, which is also "special purpose vehicle" set up jointly by Chennai-based Larsen & Toubro Limited and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), a Tamil Nadu state enterprise.

    Under the terms of the deal, LTSB will be the developer of the integrated shipyard cum port with a 1.2 million TEU annual capacity container terminal in Kattupalli. It entered into a management contract with ICTSI for the operation of the container terminal under construction, which is scheduled to commence operations next January.

    The new terminal will have two 350 metre long berths and a total terminal area of 20 hectares in Phase One. During the second phase of development, the terminal's box handling capacity will be increased to handle 1.8 million TEU annually.

(Source:http://www.schednet.com)