Aiming to become the largest container port in India by 2025, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra is expected to saturate in the next five years. Unmesh Sharad Wagh, Chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) shares the future outlook for the port commissioned more than three decades ago.

Q

What is the present capacity of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port and are you planning to expand the port further?

No expansion is possible on the sea-side at our port. The waterfront is fully occupied. Whatever we are doing is towards the interiors, that will help make the port ecosystem more efficient. By next year, we will expand to our maximum capacity which is 10.4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). This will make us the largest port in India handling containers. Today JNPA and Mundra (In Gujarat) have almost similar capacities. At present our capacity is 7.7 million TEUs and we handled 6.5 million TEUs last year. During the first quarter, our growth was almost 11 per cent, and this year, we will cross 7.2 million TEUs. 

Q

Is the port nearing saturation?

We will reach full capacity by 2029. We are about to saturate, but we are adding capacity every year. The one terminal which is currently expanding is Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Pvt Ltd (BMCT) . Its expansion will be completed in April 2025 at a cost of around ₹4,000 crore. At that time the terminal will have an additional capacity of 2.4 million TEUs. However, in the next five years, we will saturate. This is why we plan to build Vadhvan port in Palghar. The Phase-1 of this port is expected to be ready by 2029. Of the total 9 container terminals at Vadhvan, four will be built in Phase-1.

Q

The Dedicated Freight Corridor is yet to reach the port. Has that impacted the efficiency of your operations?

We are one of the most efficient ports in India . We, not only have world class operators who brought in the money, but technology and expertise too. Today our turnaround time is less than 20 hours and we intend to take it to less than 17 hours by next year. We have also mapped the supply chain inefficiencies and we have decided that our stakeholders do not have to pay exorbitant charges for the services they get. The DFC corridor is delayed, but it is expected to come in December 2025. Once the DFC comes, then JNPA port will be much cheaper than any port in India.

Q

Apart from the container terminals, which other areas are being expanded?

We also have a Special Economic Zone adjacent to the port. There is huge demand for land. But we now have only 100 acres left. This land parcel will also be auctioned in the next two months. We are also planning to set up an agro processing unit on PPP basis for ₹300 crore. We have two liquid cargo berths of 6.5 million tonnes per annum capacity. We are adding two more berths which will take the total liquid cargo handling capacity of the port to 11 million tonnes.