DP World to build new berth at India’s largest port

   The global container terminal operator DP World has won a bid from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to build a single-berth terminal at India’s biggest port complex.
   The $200 million terminal will be built alongside DP World’s existing terminal in the port, also known as Nhava Sheva, on a 17-year concession. The terminal will have 330 meters of quay, 17 hectares of yard space, and an annual handling capacity of 800,000 TEUs.
   “Timely capacity on the west coast of India is critical to our country’s economic growth. JNPT is India’s largest trade gateway and additional port capacity will ease the congestion concerns of the shipping community,” said Mohammed Sharaf, group chief executive officer of DP World.
   Aside from the existing Nhava Sheva terminal, DP World operates facilities in Chennai, Mundra, Visakhapatnam, and Cochin.
   The DP World project is separate from a larger terminal project in the port, which often faces congestion, to vastly expand capacity. That larger project has languished through several rounds of bidding as DP World’s competitors APM Terminals and PSA International both pulled out of bids that they deemed financially unviable.
   Operators in Indian publicly-managed ports pay higher container royalty fees than in any other market in the region. – Eric Johnson