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Gati Shakti: Kandla port in Gujarat to get mega container terminal
The container terminal is part of the National Infrastructure Pipeline and will complement the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan as well as the National Logistics Policy
India’s Deendayal Port Authority at Kandla in Gujarat on Friday signed a concession agreement with the UAE-based DP World group for one of the largest greenfield container terminals in the country worth ₹4,243.64 crore, a project authorities said will boost trade and growth in Asia’s third-largest economy.
The container terminal will ease supply-chain pressures, boost India’s exports and will be vital to achieve the country’s goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy, shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.
It is part of the National Infrastructure Pipeline and will complement the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan as well as the National Logistics Policy, he said.
Ports are key to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambition to make India a manufacturing leader, but for that, it needs billions of dollars in investment for modern infrastructure.
India’s 7,500-km coastline lies on one of the world’s main shipping routes. Modi has previously talked about capitalising on the trade route by developing ports that can load freight on to huge vessels capable of carrying up to 18000 -20000-foot containers.
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The greenfield terminal will be capable of handling next-generation vessels carrying more than 18,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). TEU is a globally standardised measurement for cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports.
Infrastructure bottlenecks such as congestion at ports cost an estimated 1-2 percentage points of India’s GDP growth, according to a finance ministry calculation.
With an annual capacity of 2.19 million TEU, the Kandla terminal will cater to future trade demand from northern, western and central India, connecting these regions to global markets. The agreement was signed in presence of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group Chairman & CEO, DP World.
The terminal will quadruple port-handling capacity and develop multimodal logistics infrastructure to promote economic growth, Sonowal said. “The terminal will play an important role in the government’s ambitious vision to make India an exports hub as also support the creation of direct and indirect employment in various sectors such as transportation, distribution and supply chain.”
