JNPT's fourth terminal to start from Jan 15

Jawaharlal Nehru Port’s (JN Port) fourth terminal – the Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT) – will start its commercial operations from January 15.

The formal inauguration of the terminal is also likely to happen by January-end.

BMCT, a subsidiary of PSA International (formerly Port of Singapore Authority), had signed a concession agreement with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) on May 2014.

“Starting January 15, commercial operations would commence at the container terminal,” confirmed Mike Formoso, managing director, PSA International.

The commissioning of the container terminal is as per the project schedule of January 2018. The launch of operations will also mark the completion of project’s first of the two phases.

Under the first phase 1,000 metres long quay, approach trestles, reclamation (90 hectare), container stack yard, internal roads, parking area, adequate buildings and workshops, adequate container handling equipment, utilities including IT systems, etc, are included. The scope of work for the second phase-II involves another 1,000 metre-long quay and similar facilities.

The estimated project cost is Rs 7,915 crore with the capacity addition in both the phases being 4.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). One TEU equals a 20-feet long shipping container.

In another development on Tuesday, in order to operationalise the latest container terminal off-Mumbai limits, Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Pvt Ltd and Container Corporation of India (Concor) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to handle and operate dedicated container trains between the terminal and northern as well as western India.

These freight trains will shuttle containers or TEUs to Concor’s Rail Transhipment Hubs (RTHs). BMCT plans to designate Kathuwas in Rajasthan’s Alwar district and Jakhwada near Viramgam in Gujarat as RTHs as part of its inland extended gateways for North and West India.

“Concor will ensure competitive rail freight costs and transit times between BMCT and the RTHs in addition to providing competitive pre as well as on-carriage rail options,” read a statement from BMCT.

If BMCT’s claim is to be believed, the rail facilities attached with it will be India’s largest and the only on-dock dedicated freight corridor (DFC)-compliant facilities in JNPT, capable of handling 1.5-km long, 360 TEU container trains on completion of the DFC.

“This partnership between India’s largest and most advanced rail container terminal facility at BMCT and with Concor will bring a significant enhancement in service levels to the trade. We also eagerly await completion of the DFC to unleash the full benefits of our facility,” said BMCT’s chief executive officer Suresh Amirapu.

Kalyana Rama, chairman and managing director of Concor said, “The percentage of rail cargos handled at JNPT, despite the benefits of rail versus road, has continued to decline to a figure of 12% recently. Concor has made significant investments in multimodal logistics hubs and RTHs in several locations to extend its market reach and service offering to the trade, complementing BMCT’s investment in its rail facilities. We have no doubt that rail percentage in JNPT will see a major upswing and we aim to see 35% of volumes at BMCT handled by rail once the DFC is completed.”

Concor will be given priority handling of its trains at BMCT. The speedy transshipment at Concor’s RTHs will ensure boxes reach their destination on time. The end result is that shipping lines using BMCT’s rail terminal can enjoy a higher service level overall at a much more competitive cost.

The other advantage would be designating Dronagari Rail Terminal as a direct port delivery point for longer stay import boxes, removing traffic from the roads.

“Secondly, BMCT will work in partnership with Concor to offer shipping lines domestic repositioning of their empty containers, a service currently not available at terminals in JNPT due to the lack of capacity,” read their announcement statement.

ON TRACK

• The formal inauguration of Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals is also likely to happen by January-end
   
• The estimated project cost is Rs 7,915 crore, with total capacity addition being 4.8 million TEUs