The Hindu Business Line : P&O Ports moots integration of terminals to make JN Port a hub

P&O PORTS has suggested integration of the container terminals run by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), its own terminal at Nhava Sheva and the one to be developed by converting the unutilised bulk terminal into one mega terminal as a solution to fulfil the Government's decision to make JN Port a hub port on the West coast.

The container terminal operated by the Government-owned port trust can handle approximately 1,300 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per metre from a quay line of 680 metres while the one run by P&O Ports at Nhava Sheva has a capacity to handle 1,000 TEUs per metre from a quay line of 600 metres.

The new terminal to be developed at JN Port with private investments (P&O Ports was barred by the Government from bidding for this project due to its presence at Nhava Sheva) by converting the unused bulk terminal is designed to handle 1,375 TEUs per metre from a quay line of 720 metres.

"By integrating the three terminals, the combined capacity can be enhanced to 1,625 TEUs per metre giving an additional capacity of 400 TEUs per metre which translates into an additional annual handling capacity of 8,00,000 TEUs," P&O Ports has said in a proposal submitted to the Shipping Minister, Mr Shatrughan Sinha, for his consideration.

Currently, the terminals can handle only one main line and one to two feeders at a time, but their integration will allow the terminals to handle four main lines and at least five feeder vessels simultaneously thus enhancing their total capacity to approximately 3.5 million TEUs.

"This will also lead to a sharp reduction of container transit times at JN Port," says P&O Ports.

The absence of a hub port means that every container leaving an Indian port is delayed twice - once on the feeder voyage from India to the hub port and the second time at the hub port while it waits for the mainline ship to call at the port and pick up the container. "This results in delay of anything between 40 hours and 58 hours as well as an extra cost of at least $70 per 20-foot containers," it said.

Shipping lines mainly use a hub port, which offers minimum time to connect their containers from main line to feeders and vice-versa. This gives them the advantage of cutting the overall transit time and costs for the containers. This has led to the emergence of a number of hub ports around the world notably at Singapore, Tanjung Pelapas, Colombo, Salalah, Aden and Dubai. But a hub port status continues to elude Indian ports.

While suggesting integration of the three terminals into a single facility to help JNPT attain the hub port status, P&O Ports has urged the Government to reject the on-going bid for the conversion of the bulk terminal into a container terminal. .

The integration of terminals into a mega terminal will offer a continuous quay line of 2,280 metres and a back-up area of 100 hectares, making it possible for JN Port to attain the critical mass required for a true hub port.

According to the proposal by P&O Ports, the management of the mega container terminal can be done only by an experienced operator.