The Kolkata Port Trust and Haldia Bulk Terminal tussle is heading for arbitration.KoPT is in the process of assessing the cost of damage caused due to the exit of ABG Haldia Bulk Terminal.
In November,the port authorities had encashed the bank guarantee of INR 4 crore provided by ABG at the time of signing the contract.Earlier,they had disallowed ABG and its partner Louis Dreyfus to remove equipment worth INR 140 crore,including 6 cranes,50 dumpers,26 loaders and waybridges out of Haldia.
Accusing the company of abandoning the project,KoPT has taken the stand that the contract has not been terminated and still stands.
A senior port official said that"We want the company to start the project.Instead,they retrenched their workers and decided to stop work.Although the company has given a termination notice,ABG's petition to be allowed to resume work at Haldia is pending in the High Court."
HBT,a JV between home-grown ABG Infralogistics and French Louis Dreyfus Armateurs,had pulled out of a 10 year contract for cargo handling operations at berth number 2 and 8 of the Haldia Dock Complex blaming political climate and vested interests by the authorities on October 28th.
French major Louis Dreyfus Armateurs has now approached the French government and also the country's trade and commerce department to facilitate safe passage of its equipment.
While the tussle over Haldia is expected to get prolonged,ABG is close to winning the bid for a container handling berth at Kolkata Port,leaving the officials miffed.
The official asked that"If ABG had a problem with the port authorities,then why is it keen to bid for another project at the same port?"
According to sources,ABG LDA has emerged as the lowest bidder for container handling at berth number 5 of Netaji Subhas Dock,under the Kolkata Dock System.
