Adani asks Visakhapatnam Port to terminate agreement, not levy penalty

 The Adani Group has asked the Visakhapatnam Port to terminate the concession agreement and withdraw penal charges.

In a letter to K. Rama Mohan Rao, Chairman, Visakhapatnam Port, Adani Vizag Port Terminal has asked the authority to mutually terminate the concession agreement and if the two are unable to reach an understanding then the company will be “constrained to take appropriate steps as given in the concession agreement”.

The letter signed by Jai Khurana, CEO, Southern Ports has asked the authority to withdraw the consultation notice, cancel the meeting and “not take any adverse steps or actions including levy of penal charges against the concessionaire”.

It said the notice issued by the Concessioning Authority is “arbitrary, wrong, extraneous to the terms and conditions of the Concession Agreement, without merit and unlawful”.

“Please note that the Concessionaire has not defaulted on any of its obligations”, the letter said. It has sought termination of the agreement as Force Majeure has been continued for more than 120 days.

It said the performance of the company under the agreement has been adversely hindered. Covid-19 pandemic situation as well as various orders on lockdown issued by the Government of India have adversely affected cargo movement and terminal operations. There is global economic slowdown and drop in international trade due to Covid-19.

“The Force Majeure event is highly detrimental to the project in totality. All our resources are idling and we are incurring heavy losses/costs on the same”, Adani Group said.

The company had invoked Force Majeure with effect from February 19 and the company said that the events and lockdown are beyond its control and is not on account of any acts or omissions by the Concessionaire.