Govt clears Rs 7,737-cr projects for JNPT, Vizag ports

The government today approved three port projects worth Rs 7,737 crore for developing infrastructure at the Jawaharlal Nehru and Visakhapatnam ports.

These projects comprise development of a container terminal at an estimated cost of Rs 6,696 crore and standalone container terminal at a cost of Rs 600 crore at the JNPT in Mumbai, and a Rs 441-crore project to upgrade coal handling facility and cargo berth at the Visakhapatnam Port.

These projects were approved by the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) today.

"The CCI today approved the development of the fourth container terminal at the JNPT on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis at an estimated cost of Rs.6,696.00 crore," Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy told reporters after the meeting.

"The facility, developed through the PPP mode will have the capacity to handle over 4.8 million twenty feet equivalent units (TEUs) per annum," he said, adding the project will be implemented in two phases.

"...Increase in physical capacity and improvement in efficiency of JNPT would be for the benefit of the nation in terms of development, progress and boost Exim trade," he said.

About the development of a standalone container handling facility through PPP mode at the same port, Reddy said it will be built on DBFOT basis.