<div>Adani Ports and Larsen & Toubro (L&T)on Saturday said they have inked a pact to oversee operations of Kattupalli Port in south-Indian state Tamil Nadu.</div><div> </div><div>"Adani Ports (Adani) has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with L&T Shipbuilding (L&T) for evaluating the operations of the port at Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu, with effect from October 2015 for one month," Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) said in a filing to BSE.</div><div> </div><div>It said definitive agreements in this regard will be entered into later.</div><div> </div><div>"Adani shall be responsible for EBIDTA gains and losses arising from the port operation for this period," the filing said.</div><div> </div><div>L&T, in a separate filing, said the shipyard will continue to be managed and operated by L&T Shipbuilding.</div><div> </div><div>The development comes amid reports that Gautam Adani-led Adani group is likely to take over the operational and management control of L&T Kattupalli International Container Terminal near Chennai to strengthen its presence on the east cost.</div><div> </div><div>APSEZ in June got Kerala government's nod for developing the Rs 4,089-crore Vizhinjam International Deepwater Seaport project.</div><div> </div><div>The Ahmedabad-headquartered group, which already operates the country's busiest port at Mundra in west-Indian state Gujarat, has bagged the order with an estimated cost of Rs 4,089 crore with 4-year timeframe for commissioning of the project.</div><div> </div><div>Chairman Gautam Adani had then said, "It is a strategic location being very close to international shipping route and has the potential to become the biggest trans-shipment hub in the region." </div><div> </div><div>At present, about one million TEUs of Indian cargo are getting trans-shipped through foreign ports like Colombo.</div><div> </div><div>Development of Vizhinjam port will help in cost saving to Indian trade as the boxes can be trans-shipped at a lower cost from Vizhinjam port.</div><div> </div><div>APSEZ also operates ports in Mundra, Hazira, Tuna-Tekra (Kandla) and Dahej in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha and specialised coal handling facilities in Mormugao in Goa and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It is setting up a container terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu.</div><div> </div><div>APSEZ is part of the Adani group, which is one of India's leading business houses with a revenue of over $10 billion.</div><div> </div><div>(PTI)</div>
