The V O Chidambaranar Port Authority (VOC Port) has permitted PSA International Pte Ltd to compete in the tender for a new container terminal after a court judgement forced the Centre-owned port authority to overturn its earlier decision to reject the Singapore-based port operator. PSA International was disqualified from the proposal by the VOC Port Authority, citing several adverse court rulings against the global port operator. VOC Port has invited international bids for the conversion of bulk cargo berth No. 9 into a container terminal, the port’s third such facility. Port industry sources said that PSA had sought to reverse its exclusion from the VOC Port tender to secure its “reputation and brand image” worldwide from any fallout of a disqualification from a port bid in India. PSA also runs terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Chennai Port and the firm was one of the earliest to invest in Indian ports when the sector was opened to private funds more than two decades ago.
