Business Line reported that L&T will divest its stake in Dhamra Port Company Ltd, a 50:50 JV between TATA Steel and L&T, is no longer news. What generates speculation is who could be the probable buyer of the stake.
Several names float from time to time including that of TATA Steel, which being the 50% owner of the company may have the first right of refusal and, therefore, could buy up the entire stake, more so because TATA Steel’s involvement and, thus, investments in Odisha are set to rise in coming days.
The latest addition is the name of APM Terminals, belonging to the Denmark based AP Moller Group, which also owns the world’s largest container line, Maersk. However, those familiar with the goings on in the country’s port sector discount any such a possibility. Yes, APMT is interested in Dhamra Port but only in setting up a container terminal not running the whole port.
Early this year, DPCL and APM did sign a MoU to explore the possibility of setting up a container terminal with an initial capacity of 500,000 TEUs annually, to be scaled up gradually to one million TEUs. The exercise is still on. After all, APMT is known all over the world as a container terminal operator, not as a port operator. At country’s other ports, JNPT and Mundra, it is container terminal operator.
