India’s Port of Jawaharlal Nehru plans to set up a port-based export processing zone, a first-of-its-kind project in the country, the port trust said Tuesday.
The proposed trade zone will cost an estimated $750 million and is expected to boost cargo volume moving through India’s largest container gateway.
S.S. Hussain, port chairman, said the board approved the proposal, and it is now awaiting government approvals including environmental clearance.
According to port officials, the first phase would be developed on 227 hectares of land along the Panvel-Uran road that connects the west coast hub to other highways.
Based on a feasibility report, the project has the potential to create around 36,000 direct jobs.
Nehru, which handles almost 60 percent of India's containerized traffic, had earlier acquired about 2,500 hectares of land for its long-term development. Several shipping lines also leased land from the port authority to develop their private storage facilities.
Current expansion plans for the port include a fourth box terminal and a 330-meter berth extension project, doubling annual capacity to over 8 million 20-foot equivalent units from 4.17 million TEUs now.
The port handled 3.95 million TEUs in fiscal 2008-09 compared with a record 4.06 million TEUs the previous year. Volume in the April-November period totaled 2.6 million TEUs, down from 2.8 million TEUs in the year-ago period. Total cargo throughput for the eight-month period was estimated at 39 million tons.
The proposed trade zone will cost an estimated $750 million and is expected to boost cargo volume moving through India’s largest container gateway.
S.S. Hussain, port chairman, said the board approved the proposal, and it is now awaiting government approvals including environmental clearance.
According to port officials, the first phase would be developed on 227 hectares of land along the Panvel-Uran road that connects the west coast hub to other highways.
Based on a feasibility report, the project has the potential to create around 36,000 direct jobs.
Nehru, which handles almost 60 percent of India's containerized traffic, had earlier acquired about 2,500 hectares of land for its long-term development. Several shipping lines also leased land from the port authority to develop their private storage facilities.
Current expansion plans for the port include a fourth box terminal and a 330-meter berth extension project, doubling annual capacity to over 8 million 20-foot equivalent units from 4.17 million TEUs now.
The port handled 3.95 million TEUs in fiscal 2008-09 compared with a record 4.06 million TEUs the previous year. Volume in the April-November period totaled 2.6 million TEUs, down from 2.8 million TEUs in the year-ago period. Total cargo throughput for the eight-month period was estimated at 39 million tons.