Centre offers equity support to Verna maritime cluster

PANAJI: Sagarmala Development Company Ltd (SDCL), a special purpose vehicle set up by the Union shipping ministry to develop Sagarmala projects, has evinced interest in funding India’s first

maritime

cluster, which is coming up at Verna, through the

equity

route by offering to take up to 49% stake in the project — Konkan Maritime Cluster.

SDCL has sought additional information from the government and from Konkan Maritime Cluster based on which the final decision will be made, SDCL managing director and director of projects Dilip Kumar Gupta said on Saturday.

“We will be happy to provide equity

support

for the maritime cluster so that it will help the state,” Gupta said at the CII Goa conference on logistics. “We have asked a few questions and once we get that we will provide the equity. I hope an early reply will come to us and we will be able to finance the project.”

The maritime

cluster

, a consortium of 49 Goan enterprises, is coming up at Verna industrial estate where the Goa Industrial Development Corporation has allotted 14,380sqm land to setup a common facility for manufacturing, design and allied services for the shipbuilding industry. The foundation stone for the project will be laid on Sunday.

“I would like to appreciate Dilip Kumar Gupta, the MD of Sagarmala Company, for agreeing to provide equity support for the maritime cluster,” chief minister Pramod Sawant said.

Projects in which SDCL takes an equity stake, are expected to give returns only after five to six years of operations. According to norms, equity contribution from SDCL will be decided based on the detailed project report and generally does not exceed 49% of the project shareholding.

Gupta said that the Union shipping ministry is creating a Rs 25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund (MDF) which will provide low-cost, long term financing for the shipping sector. He said that ship builders and companies associated with the shipping industry often find it difficult to obtain funding from banks and financing institutions.

“We will be providing a much cheaper fund where we will charge maybe 50-60 basis points above the cost of borrowing for us from the market. You can use the funds to develop maritime infrastructure,” the SDCL managing director said. The Union Cabinet is likely to approve the fund within two to three months, he said.

Panaji: Sagarmala Development Company Ltd (SDCL), a special purpose vehicle set up by the Union shipping ministry to develop Sagarmala projects, has evinced interest in funding India’s first maritime cluster, which is coming up at Verna, through the equity route by offering to take up to 49% stake in the project — Konkan Maritime Cluster.

SDCL has sought additional information from the government and from Konkan Maritime Cluster based on which the final decision will be made, SDCL managing director and director of projects Dilip Kumar Gupta said on Saturday.

“We will be happy to provide equity support for the maritime cluster so that it will help the state,” Gupta said at the CII Goa conference on logistics. “We have asked a few questions and once we get that we will provide the equity. I hope an early reply will come to us and we will be able to finance the project.”

The maritime cluster, a consortium of 49 Goan enterprises, is coming up at Verna industrial estate where the Goa Industrial Development Corporation has allotted 14,380sqm land to setup a common facility for manufacturing, design and allied services for the shipbuilding industry. The foundation stone for the project will be laid on Sunday.

“I would like to appreciate Dilip Kumar Gupta, the MD of Sagarmala Company, for agreeing to provide equity support for the maritime cluster,” chief minister Pramod Sawant said.

Projects in which SDCL takes an equity stake, are expected to give returns only after five to six years of operations. According to norms, equity contribution from SDCL will be decided based on the detailed project report and generally does not exceed 49% of the project shareholding.

Gupta said that the Union shipping ministry is creating a Rs 25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund (MDF) which will provide low-cost, long term financing for the shipping sector. He said that ship builders and companies associated with the shipping industry often find it difficult to obtain funding from banks and financing institutions.

“We will be providing a much cheaper fund where we will charge maybe 50-60 basis points above the cost of borrowing for us from the market. You can use the funds to develop maritime infrastructure,” the SDCL managing director said. The Union Cabinet is likely to approve the fund within two to three months, he said.

Gupta said that SDCL is willing to fund building new fishing trawlers or providing fishing trawlers on lease for local fishermen.


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