The two liquid cargo berths that are under development by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) will become fully operational within the next six months, says Unmesh Wagh, Chairman, JNPA.
“We are very short of liquid cargo berths. There is a lot of waiting involved for ships as a result. But now we are adding two berths and they will be fully operational within six months,” he says. The Navi Mumbai port currently handles about 6.5 million tonnes per annum of liquid cargo at the two existing liquid cargo berths.
To help meet the growth in demand for liquid cargo handling, JNPA used internal funding sources to invest ₹225 crore to develop two more berths on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis.
“The new berths are already catering to edible oil cargo. But in the next six months we will complete the installation of all arms for cargo handling, as also other construction activities.The capacity constraint will be taken care of,” Wagh adds.
JSW Infrastructure Limited has emerged as the top bidder for operating the two new berths, No. 3 and 4, and has quoted a royalty of ₹252 per tonne. The estimated capital expenditure for the operator is ₹69 crore; a concession agreement was signed with the private player on April 8.
The additional berths are set to alleviate the pressure on the existing liquid jetties, and cut vessel waiting time and demurrage costs.
Designed for larger vessels with expanded parcel sizes, the new berths also promise to boost cargo volumes. During the first quarter of financial year 2024-25, JNPA handled 14,88,295 tonnes of liquid cargo, a tad lower than 14,98,625 tonnes a year ago.