Will clear JNPA container backlog by mid-August, says Concor CMD

State-owned logistics operator says container pendency at JNPA has fallen sharply and expects domestic container volumes to grow 25 per cent this financial year

State-owned container mover and logistics operator Container Corporation of India (Concor) expects to clear its backlog of containers at the logjammed Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) by mid-August, according to the company’s outgoing Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), Sanjay Swarup.

 

Exporters have been raising concerns over congestion at the port’s inland facilities, an issue that has disrupted India’s trade for over a month. “There was a crisis of drivers who ferry containers between terminals at JNPA as well as at Mundra Port because of the Bengal elections and the gas issue. Containers were not getting cleared and there were huge pendencies,” Swarup told Business Standard on Tuesday.

 

In the first week of June, Concor had a backlog of 13,000 containers. The company operates around 430 rakes and handles nearly 75 per cent of the containers moved through the state-owned port.

 

Over a fortnight, the container rail operator held virtual meetings with stakeholders, followed by a visit to JNPA for in-person discussions and an inspection of the situation. “As a result, the pendency is at 4,000 containers now. We are clearing cargo from JNPA in a sustained manner. There were disruptions for a few days due to the heavy monsoons as well. By mid-August, we will only have current pendencies. We will not have any backlogs by then,” Swarup said.

 

Swarup will demit office on Friday and will be succeeded on Saturday by Ajit Kumar Panda, the current director of projects and services.

 

Speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of a customer consultation meeting near Concor’s Dadri inland container depot (ICD) near Noida, Swarup said the company expects the depot to double its volumes and soon achieve movement of 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

 

Concor has also recovered its container movement volumes in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY27). It reported a 0.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in consolidated net profit to ₹268.90 crore in Q1FY27 from ₹267.28 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations increased 0.28 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹2,159.76 crore.

 

“In the last quarter of the previous financial year, the West Asia crisis impacted us and our exim (export-import) volumes dipped. From Q1, we have been getting good volumes. Export business has definitely been impacted but import volumes of containers continue to be strong,” Swarup said.

 

The company is also set to enter a new segment following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement last year of a national container carrier, Bharat Container Shipping Line (BCSL). Concor will hold a 30 per cent stake in the venture, with the remaining equity to be held by the Shipping Corporation of India, port authorities and state-owned maritime financier Sagarmala Finance Corporation.

 

The BCSL proposal has been sent to the Cabinet. A tentative business plan has been prepared, and a detailed plan will determine the project’s capital expenditure, Swarup said.

 

“Tentatively, the rough number is around ₹4,500 crore of investment over 10-15 years. Right now, there is no proposal for the government to infuse equity for this. We have cash reserves or we can take loans. It will be premature to comment exactly as things will be decided in due course,” he said.

 

Swarup also said the reforms announced by Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw earlier this month would boost the container business. The measures aim to increase the containerisation of bulk commodities such as fly ash and fertilisers. “In this financial year itself, we should have 25 per cent growth in domestic volume,” he said.