First Container Arrives at Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals
Monday, January 29, 2018
Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Private Limited (BMCT) said it received its first container arriving by road during a gate opening ceremony officiated by Vivek Johri (IRS), Chief Commissioner Customs, Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House.
The container will be loaded on CMA-CGM’s vessel Centaurus, which arrives at BMCT on Friday, February 2, 2018. With eight in-gates and eight out-gates, paperless transactions, weighbridge and radiation detection facilities, BMCT’s Phase 1 gate complex brings new levels of sophistication and efficiency to the Nhava Sheva area.
The first containers arriving by road will be followed by containers arriving by rail and barge. BMCT currently has 165 employees, of which around 80 percent are Maharashtrians and has recruited all its trainees from the local area. Many jobs have also been created at BMCT’s operating contractors and more will be created as the company’s business grows, particularly when Phase 2 construction begins. BMCT’s Container Equipment Specialist (CES) trainees, who have undergone intensive training at PSA’s other ports in India, have returned to Mumbai for the start of BMCT’s operations.
BMCT’s CEO, Suresh Amirapu, said, “We have received immense help from Customs and many other agencies to get to this point. We are honored to welcome the first container together with Customs before our first vessel call later this week. These are exciting times ahead for the trade as BMCT introduces game-changing capacity and facilities into the market.”