Fourteen companies have lined up to take over the troubled Dighi Port, whose case of bankruptcy is being heard by the National Company Law Tribunal. Earlier supported by debt-laden IL&FS and currently run by Balaji Infra, the port has Vijay Kalantri, the former treasurer of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, as its director. Bids for its takeover will be submitted on October 26. Dighi Port Limited in Raigad district is the first port to land in the NCLT, facing bankruptcy proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The NCLT has ordered the start of corporate insolvency resolution process on the company based on a petition brought by DBM Geotechnics and Constructions Pvt Ltd, an operational creditor to whom the port allegedly owes Rs 30 crore. According to Vikram Kumar, the port allegedly owes MMB Rs 13 crore. We have filed our claim in the NCLT along with other creditors, said Kumar. According to sources, the port also owes approximately Rs 1,600 crore to a consortium of banks led by Bank of India. Vijay Kalantri, told, The case against us in the NCLT is disputed and so are charges by the MMB. They have charged us in excess. The port is fully operational. We are authorised to sign bank cheques. Only the operational creditor has gone to the NCLT, not financial creditors.
14 firms set to bid for takeover of Dighi port
