Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has been awarded the contract to execute Gangavaram Port Ltd''s first phase of the greenfield deep water port project'' in Andhra Pradesh. The project site is located at Gangavaram, about 15km south of Vishakapatnam port.

The order is valued at Rs411 crore on engineering-procurement-construction basis by L&T within 24 months from December 2005. The scope of works involves construction of two breakwaters having a total length of approximately 2.6km and five berths for handling different types of cargo. Apart from the offshore works, the company will also execute some of the onshore civil works.

When completed, the port will handle 35 million tonnes of cargo in the first phase and boost the industrial development of Vishakapatnam region and its hinterland.

Announcing the order, K V Rangaswami, member of the board and senior vice president (construction), L&T, said, "This is a very prestigious order for L&T since it happens to be a greenfield port and this is for the first time in India that an order for a 1.5km-long berth has been released for construction in a single package. The order brings immense credit to L&T, since we bagged the order amidst stiff global competition from major players in construction. L&T will further build on its strengths in this marine business which is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years."