Mercantile Ports & Logistics Ltd Contract win and progress update (1484A)
December 22 2017 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMMPL
RNS Number : 1484A
Mercantile Ports & Logistics Ltd
22 December 2017
22 December, 2017
Mercantile Ports & Logistics Limited (the "Company")
("MPL" or the "Company")
Contract win and progress update
Contract win
MPL, (AIM:MPL), which is developing a port and logistics
facility in Mumbai, India, is pleased to announce that it has
entered into its second binding customer contract to manage cargo
at its facility (the "Contract").
The Contract, which is with an Indian-based trading and
stevedoring company, has a seven-year term, and is then extendable
by an additional two years. Under the contract, MPL will provide
berthing facilities and approximately seven acres of backup land
suitable for storage of cargo, which is expected to include pulses,
fertilizer and construction materials. The area of backup land will
increase as the cargo volume is increased. The Contract envisages a
minimum of one million tonnes of cargo in year 1, two million in
Year 2 and three million in Year 3.
Under the Contract, the customer shall be responsible for all
handling operations and the customer will make a substantial
capital investment in the facility through the construction of
warehouses for storage. The first cargo under the Contract will
land once the customer's warehouses have been constructed, which is
expected to be in the second half of February 2018.
Project update
Having announced that piling had been completed on 3 November,
the Company is pleased to report that three berths on the jetty
have been completed and are capable of receiving vessels. Channel
dredging is complete and dredging in the berth pocket is
progressing in line with the jetty becoming functional. The
reclaimed land is being readied with the required finished surfaces
for the different cargo types. An initial area, approximately 50
acres, will be completed and available as the necessary back-up
land by January 2018, in time for the first cargo under the
contract announced on 20 August, which is scheduled to land during
the third week of January 2018.
The team has focused on ensuring that the facility will be part
operational by the end of the year and the Company is pleased that
this target has been met. The Company is also pleased to report
that the vast majority of the technical and engineering workstreams
for the entire facility are now complete. Reclamation work has
continued in parallel with other workstreams since the monsoon
eventually ceased in October and, now that the site is dry,
reclamation and ground improvement activity for the balance of the
reclamation works will accelerate and continue whilst the Facility
is operating. Additional surcharge material continues to arrive on
site on a daily basis and, early in the New Year, resource will
focus on the less technically demanding expansion of the site's
footprint. To date, approximately 95 acres have been reclaimed and
reclamation material for a further approximately 10 acres is
already on site.
The Company's infrastructure and equipment purchasing schedule
is progressing as expected. The Group's first contracted customers
will initially employ their own equipment and the Board is
confident that the facility's infrastructure and equipment will
meet the requirements of its customers, as necessary.
As the facility approaches the date on which it will welcome its
first customer, the Company has intensified its marketing efforts.
One example of this was management attending the Maritime, Ports,
Logistics and Warehousing Exhibition 2017, which was organised by
the Confederation of Indian Industry in Mumbai last month. The
Company was proud to exhibit alongside some of India's leading
companies in the sector. The Company's business development team
leader, Umesh Grover, was a panel speaker, and the Company was
delighted with the profile that this event achieved.
Executive Chairman, Nikhil Gandhi, said, "Management is very
pleased to have reached this important milestone. The contract
announcements, together with the commencement of operations, leads
management to be increasingly optimistic on the operational
prospects of the Company as we seek to achieve our goal of creating
a modern logistics facility, which is strategically positioned to
be an important part of Mumbai's logistical infrastructure."
Recent photographs taken on the site have been uploaded on the
Company's website.
Enquiries
MPL Pavan Bakhshi/Jay Mehta
C/O Redleaf Communications
+44 (0)20 7382 4769
Cenkos Securities plc Stephen Keys/Camilla Hume
+44 (0)20 7397 8900
Redleaf PR Charlie Geller/Fiona Norman
(Financial PR) +44 (0)20 7382 4769
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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