The contract for expansion of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) at an investment of Rs 872 crore has been assigned to a consortium of J M Baxi Ports and Logistics, and CMA Terminals.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Port has five terminals and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) is the only one that is self-operated. Out of the remaining four terminals, two are operated by Dubai government-owned DP World, one by PSA International and another by APM Terminals Management.
With the takeover of JNPCT, Jawaharlal Nehru port in Maharashtra would become the country’s first major port to become a 100 per cent landlord port with all its berths being operated on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, a release said on Thursday.
For the JNPCT tender, the equal joint venture between J M Baxi Ports and Logistics Ltd, and CMA Terminals offered a royalty price of Rs 4,520 per TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) for the concession period, it said.
The royalty due will increase yearly in line with the rise on the basis of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). The contract period is for 30 years.
The investment for the project will be Rs 872 crore, as per the release.
The concessionaire — J M Baxi Ports and Logistics and CMA Terminals consortium — has to upgrade, operate, maintain and transfer this terminal on PPP basis in two phases.
The concession agreement for the JNPCT will be signed on July 27.
The first phase of the project will be completed in 18 months from the date of award of the concession agreement. The first phase will see an investment of Rs 591.99 crore.
The development of the second phase will commence after achieving 1.02 million TEUs or seven years, whichever is earlier. The second phase is to be completed within 18 months at an investment of Rs 280.17 crore.
Under the new Major Port Authorities Act and the Model Concession Agreement (MCA), the terminal operator is free to fix market determined tariff rates. “As the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisaged that PPP is grounded on the principle of inclusion of the private enterprises as able partners towards progress, this project will improve the utilisation in crane and berth productivity of the terminal,” Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said in the release.
According to him, the total handling capacity of JNPCT will increase to 1.8 million TEUs from 1.5 million TEUs in 2020-21.
Further, he said the terminal will be handling Ro-Ro vessels which will not only lower the logistics cost and reduce transit time but will also contribute in reducing congestion on roads and promoting a clean environment.
The JNPCT has two berths with a total length of 680 metres and 15 metres draft which will be handed over under this PPP contract along with a backup area of 54.74 hectares for 30 years, the release said.
Presently, the JNPCT handles 9,000 TEUs capacity vessels and with the upgradation, it can handle 12,200 TEUs capacity vessels. Besides, there is a proposal to increase the RMQC (Rail Mounted Quay Crane) rail span from 20 metres to 30.5 metres at the port.
