Israel Ports Development & Assets Company Ltd. is bidding in a tender for the construction of a new wharf at the port of Chennai (formerly Madras) in southern India. It submitted a joint bid with India's Cargo Motors Pvt. Ltd.. The new bid comes a month after the two companies won the $700 million tender to build the deepwater port at Nargol, in Gujarat State, on India's western coast.
In a statement, Israel Ports chairman Yechiel Leiter said that the establishment of operations in India was part of the company's strategic goal to expand into international markets, with a focus on India. "In the coming years, we will invest huge sums in infrastructures in India, and tens of billions of dollars in the development of seaports. For us, this is the perfect time to launch the company's international operations," he said.
Cargo Motors director Gayant Nando is visiting Israel. He said that the company's joint ventures with Israel Ports was based on Israel's know-how, and that Cargo Motors intended to expand collaborations with Israel in renewable energy, desalination, and logistics.
Nanda said that other Israeli companies might participate in the construction of the Nargol port. "The port franchise is for 30 years, and Cargo Motors' collaboration with Israel Ports will widen, and will operate in other projects across India," he said.
The new wharf at the Chennai Port will handle motor vehicles. The tender process will take over a year. Cargo Motors and Israel Ports believe that their win in the Nargol port tender will make them strong contenders in the Chennai Port Trust tender. Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu State, is close to the center of India's growing motor vehicles industry.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 22, 2012
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