Shri GK Vasan, India’s honourable minister of shipping, was granted the honour of laying the foundation stone for the construction of DP World’s new Nhava Sheva Gateway terminal today.
DP World secured the project in October of last year, after agreeing to a 28.09 percent revenue share with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.
Construction was initially delayed due to environmental concerns and the decision by DP World to restructure its Indian operations into a separate holding company.
Today’s ceremony marked a massive step forward in the development of the facility that is expected to provide an extra 800,000 TEU annually to the capacity of the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (JNP).
The ceremony was held in the presence of the honourable minister of state for shipping, Shri Milind Deora, the chairman DP World, HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and HE Shri NN Kumar, chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Port, along with dignitaries from the government of India, senior members of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and DP World, and the Indian trade community.
Chairman of DP World, HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, celebrated in saying that “today is an important milestone for us and we thank the honourable minister for laying the foundation stone for the Nhava Sheva (India) Gateway Terminal.”
“The new development would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of the government of India to India’s trade community.”
“As the busiest gateway and hub in India, Nhava Sheva has been constrained in the past by lack of facilities, which has impacted trade.”
“We at DP World are proud to bring new capacity to this vibrant city and the fast growing economy of India.”
The completion of the new port will be greatly beneficial to JNP, which is currently suffering congestion issues, due to operations exceeding capacity.
DP World signed a 17-year concession deal with the JNP Trust, and will invest US$200 million into the build, which includes the construction of 300 metres of quay, alongside the supply of 4 rail mounted cranes and 12 RTGs.
