DP World signed a concession agreement with the Deendayal Port Authority to develop, operate and maintain a new 2.19 million TEU per annum mega-container terminal at Kandla in Gujarat on India’s western coast, WAM reported.
The Deendayal Port Authority awarded the concession in January to develop the mega-container terminal to Hindustan Infralog Private Limited -- a joint venture between DP World and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, India’s collaborative investment platform anchored by the Government of India.
The concession is on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis for a period of 30 years with the option to extend for another 20 years.
The project involves the construction of a mega-container terminal at Tuna-Tekra near the existing Deendayal Port, at a cost of approximately $510 million through a Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Once completed in 2027, the 2.19 million TEU per year terminal will have state of the art equipment and a 1,100 m berth capable of handling next-generation vessels carrying more than 18,000 TEUs.
DP World currently operates five container terminals in India – two in Mumbai, one each in Mundra, Cochin and Chennai – with a combined capacity of approximately 6 million TEUs. With the addition of Tuna Tekra, DP World will have a combined capacity of 8.19 million TEUs.
The concession agreement was signed between S. K. Mehta, Chairman of Deendayal Port Authority and Rizwan Soomar, MD and CEO, India Subcontinent, Middle East and North Africa, DP World.
It was signed in the presence of Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, at a ceremony in New Delhi.