A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed against the award of the $1.3bn fourth container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port, in India, to PSA.
The petitioner filed the notice at the High Court of Bombay, claiming that PSA International should not have been awarded the concession, since it had previously withdrawn its letter of offer when awarded an initial contract for the same deal in 2011 as part of joint venture with ABG Ports.
At the time, PSA publicly commented that its refusal to sign the eventual concession agreement was down to “unexpected developments and differences that arose on key issues along the way that were beyond our control”.
Despite PSA's decision, it was once again permitted to bid for the same concession as part of a new tender.
In its initial joint venture bid, PSA/ABG offered the government a 50.8% revenue share, unprecedented in any Indian port concession then or since. However, this had dropped to 35.79% as part of its second bid, with second-placed Adani offering a 29% share.
If the PIL is admitted and stays granted, there will be a further delay in implementing the much needed additional capacity.
When contacted by Port Strategy, PSA declined to comment given that the PIL remains before the courts.
