JNPCT privatisation to complete soon

In a month, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) plans to privatise its only self-operated facility, the Jawahar Lal Nehru Container Terminal (JNPCT). The authority is waiting for security clearance from the ministries of defence and home, and once it has it, it will ask bidders to submit requests for proposals (RFP). The deadline for RFP submissions is March 17, however it can be extended by a week if permission is not received by then. At least 12 global port operators have expressed interest in the privatisation, which is part of the National Monetisation Pipeline, including A P M Terminals Management, A P Moller Maersk, D P World, International Cargo Terminals and Infrastructure, QTerminals (Qatar), Abu Dhabi Terminals, Adani Ports and SEZ, and JSW Infrastructure. The terminal’s capacity is roughly 2 million teu, but due to inefficient and ageing equipment, it only functions at about half of that. After privatisation, it is estimated the terminal will easily reach 1.7 to 2 million teu capacity, up from its present utilisation of 0.7 million teus.