Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) finally awarded the much delayed fourth container terminal project to Singapore’s PSA International in February, 2014. The project which was envisaged in 2003, was stuck due to unsuccessful bidding rounds. JNPT’s fourth container terminal is said to be the largest port project in India, involving 100 per cent foreign direct investment.
The Rs 8,200 crore container terminal project involves developing a 2,000 mtr berth and will add a capacity of 4.8 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent container units) of container handling, to JNPT. The terminal will be developed on a design, build, finance, operate, transfer (DBFOT) basis. The project is proposed to be completed in two phases over a span of six years. Work on the project will commence only after the concession agreement is signed and financial closure is achieved.
The container terminal project was previously awarded to a consortium of PSA International and ABG Ports in 201l. However, JNPT withdrew the letter of award (LoA) given to the consortium in 2012 as the group failed to sign a concession agreement.
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Projex plans at Major Ports in India |
| Port |
Rs.Crore |
| Cochin |
14,361 |
| Kandla |
13,697 |
| Jawaharlal Nehru |
11,918 |
| V.O. Chidambaranar |
10,105 |
| Visakhapatnam |
7,582 |
| Chennai |
5,273 |
| Kolkata |
4,604 |
| Paradip |
3,691 |
| Mumbai |
2,953 |
| Kamarajar |
2,043 |
| Mormugao |
1,749 |
| New Mangalore |
476 |
| Total |
78,452 |
| #Source ProjectsToday.com |
| *Data as of 28 Feb 2014 |
JNPT then re-tendered the project in June 2013, to which eight bidders submitted their Request for Qualification (RFQ). Out of these, Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued to seven qualified bidders in December 2013. In Feb 2014, PSA Bharat Investments, a subsidiary of PSA International and Adani Port & SEZ, in a consortium with Terminal Investments, submitted their price bids. PSA emerged as the highest bidder quoting a revenue share of 35.79 per cent, as compared to Adani Ports’s offer of 29 per cent revenue share. The LoA has been issued to PSA. Other companies which had shown interest in the project were APM Terminals, Sterlite Ports, United Liner Agencies and International Container Terminal Services.
Another port project which has been fast tracked is the 330 mtr standalone container terminal project at JNPT. The foundation stone for the project was laid on 5 March 2014, taking a step forward in the development of the facility. Dubai-based port operator, DP World, secured the project in June 2013, after agreeing to a 28.09 per cent revenue share with the JNPT. The project will be implemented by Nhava Sheva (India) Gateway Terminal (NSIGT), a special purpose vehicle, to be set up by DP World.
This project will also be executed on DBFOT basis. Once completed, the Rs 600 crore container terminal will add 0.8 million TEUs of container capacity to the port. DP is confident of commissioning the terminal by end 2015.
The completion of these two new terminals will be greatly beneficial to JNPT, which is currently facing severe capacity constraints. The two new terminals will enhance the container handling capacity of JNPT from 4.1 million TEUs to 9.7 million TEUs. JNPT currently has three terminals — JNPT Container Terminal, Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT), and Gateway Terminal (GTI). Of these, JNPT runs only one terminal, while NSICT is run by DP World and GTI is run by a consortium of APM Terminals and the Container Corporation of India.
JNPT is the biggest container handling port in India, handling around 56 per cent of the country's containerized cargo. In five years, JNPT is projected to be among the top ten ports in the world as its capacity is expected to go up 130 per cent by then. Thus, JNPT port will be handling more than 10 million TEUs by 2018-19.
The 2013-14 fiscal has been a good one for the Shipping Ministry, as the Ministry was successful in achieving the 2013-14 target of awarding 30 port projects. These projects, entailing an investment of Rs 21,000 crore, will add a capacity of about 217 million tonne per annum. This is definitely an improvement over the last fiscal, where the Shipping Ministry awarded 32 projects worth Rs 6,765 crore as against the target of awarding 42 projects worth Rs 14,500 crore.
As of 28 Feb 2014, the capacity of the 12 major ports in India stood at 800 million tonne; up from 575 million tonne in 2009. According to ProjectsToday, as of March 2014, projects worth Rs 78,452 crore were on at the 12 major ports.
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