The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust’s (JNPT) new Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has reached its first milestone after the first batch of units became operational.
In a statement, JNPT said five units have begun “construction activities” and two have recently started operations, with all being granted “operational status”.
The SEZ has been in construction since 2014 and will be used to boost India’s exports and support the transformation of its maritime industry. It will be built on on 277 hectares of free hold land at Navi Mumbai, and be the first port-based, multi-product SEZ in the country.
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The two fully operational units are owned by OWS, a major warehousing services provider, and Krish Food Indistry respectively. JNPT said it expects all remaining units to become operation in the “near future” but did not indicate when.
Additionally, the JNPT predicted that the SEZ, when fully operational, will contribute $535.8 million to the economy.
Commenting on the progress of SEZ, Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, JNPT said, “For JNPT, this is truly a great occasion as JNPT becomes the first port where Port-led economic development is evolving successfully.
“JNPT is confident of attracting leading global companies for making India a manufacturing hub as the infrastructure development underway in JNPT SEZ is as per the international benchmark.
“The potential units investment and the employment generation will give a boost to the entire entire eco-system around JNPT region.”
