The JNPT Port, Mumbai, will soon call for fresh bids to develop a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on 296 acres of industrial area developed near the port. This would be the second bidding process of JNPT management in the last two months.

A senior JNPT official told BusinessLine that the bidding would be on electronic platform and advertisements will be published by Tuesday. Last time around, the highest bid to buy an acre of land was about ₹12 crore.

The Shipping Ministry had given its green signal for calling the bids, the official said.

The new bidding process will, again, test the market appetite for such an important and large parcel of land. While the global electronic contract manufacturer Foxconn had placed a bid in the last auction, its participation in the current auction is not known, the official said.

In September, a joint venture of DP World and India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund outbid four other groups to develop a free trade warehousing zone on 44 acres at the SEZ. JNPT SEZ is spread over 277 hectares and located close to JNPT Port, the country’s premier container port. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the SEZ to boost export-oriented industries in the country. Being close to JNPT Port, it provides access to global markets and strong multi-modal connectivity.The upcoming New Mumbai airport, dedicated rail freight Corridor and trans-harbour road link will act as an additional attraction to the SEZ project.

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