In a bid to increase capacity JNPT will develop fourth container terminal together with the 330 Terminal project
Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) the biggest container port in India handling 60% containers traffic of the country is set to shore up its capacity. With the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) having given its approval last week the port will soon be inviting bids for the development of the $.1.6 billion Fourth Container Terminal project and the ‘330 Terminal project to be set up on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis.
S. Shahzad Hussain, Chairman of the JNPT stated, “The port is currently working at 75% to 80% much beyond its optimal capacity. Though it has reached the saturation point the management has taken initiatives such that the trade is not impacted. Significant measures have been taken to curb delays. We will therefore be taking up for development the fourth terminal together with the ‘330 Terminal project.”
‘330 Terminal’ is a standalone project to be set up at an estimated cost $ 127.7 million for handling containers. This too is to be developed within a period of 24 months from the date of award of the concession. The two proposed terminals will have a combined handling capacity of 4.8 million TEUs (Twenty foot equivalent units) containers annually.
“The fourth Container Terminal is to be implemented in two phases with the first phase being commissioned within 3 years of signing of the concession agreement,” informed a port official. “The project would be developed on public-private partnership (PPP) model to reduce the burden on the government funds which are not significant to meet all the infrastructure needs of the country.”
One of the 12 major ports, JNP crossed the 50 million tonnes mark in cargo handling on 28th Feb. 2008. The Port handled 47 million tonnes of containerized cargo (3.66 million TEUs) and 3.21 million tonnes of Liquid Bulk / Bulk Cargo during the last fiscal (01.04.2007 to 28.2.2008). This achievement by the Port in cargo handling in just 18 years is a record among all Indian Major Ports/Minor Port and Intermediate Ports.
The 12 major ports which are controlled by the central government recorded a throughput of 362.9 million between April and November 2009 compared to 364.5 million tons for the corresponding period in the previous year according to the figures released by the Indian Ports Association. Of this the containerized cargo comprised 64.9 million tons. The government has set an aggregate cargo handling target of 1 billion tonnes for all Indian ports by March 2012, envisaging a growth rate of 12% annually.