JSW Infrastructure has won the bid to develop Keni Port in Karnataka with a projected investment of ₹4,119 crore. It has also received a letter of award from the Karnataka Maritime Board for the project.

The initial capacity of the all-weather, deep-water greenfield port is 30 million tonne per annum, the company said in a release.

During the pre-bid stage, there were four companies that had shown interest - JSW Infrastructure, Adani Ports, Navayuga Engineering and Vishwa Samudra.

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The port at Keni is located between the two major ports of Mormugao in the north and New Mangalore Port in the south. The hinterland provides cargo of coal and coke that are used for steel, cement and power plants. Rail connectivity to the port will be on the southern side and will be connected with the existing Konkan line. The proposed rail connection will have a length of 8 km.

Industrial growth

“Karnataka is targeting an impressive industrial growth and there has been an increased emphasis on the expansion and growth in maritime infrastructure in the region,” said Arun Maheshwari, Joint MD and CEO of JSW Infrastructure. “Once concession agreement is signed we will start working to develop the Keni Port as an integral part of the state’s maritime infrastructure and trade gateway.”

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Karnataka’s hinterland has a cargo potential of 44 million tonnes that is expected to rise to 117 million tonnes by 2035, providing ample opportunities for more ports and port infrastructure to come up.

JSW Infrastructure, which recently listed on the bourses, currently operates nine port concessions with a total installed cargo handling capacity of 153 million tonnes, which it plans to increase to 300 million tonnes by 2030.

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