At an estimated cost of ₹27,000 crore, Kandla, one of India’s oldest significant ports, is developing a long-term development plan to build a new container terminal and multipurpose berth in Gujarat’s Kutch area in order to reclaim the land that was given to Paradip port last year.
Currently, Kandla wants to set aside three kilometers of land for the construction of a container port, with the remaining three kilometers potentially being used for a multipurpose freight terminal. Kandla, the nation’s first major port established in 1955, might benefit greatly from this initiative. In 2007–2008, Kandla became the most important port in India, a position it held for more than 15 years. In 2023–2024, Paradip overtook it as India’s top major port.
Kandla Port handled 131 MMT tons of cargo in 2023–2024—a 4.17 percent decrease from the port’s previous year’s volume. The decline in international cargo growth, which decreased by 4.8% over the past year, has been the most setback for Kandla. Coastal cargo, meanwhile, has increased by 1.48 percent. In stark contrast, Paradip Port surpassed Kandla Port as India’s most important port, handling more than 145 million metric tons of cargo.
In terms of cargo volumes, Paradip is still ahead of Kandla this year. Between April and September 2024, the first half of the current fiscal year, Paradip handled 73.16 million tonnes (MT) of freight, compared to 71.39 MT handled by Kandla. Paradip’s overseas shipping volumes increased by about 6% throughout this time. In contrast, Kandla Port’s overseas cargo volumes increased by 13% over the first half of the year, while the port’s coastal cargo volumes decreased by the same proportion.
