Delay escalates JNPT's 4th terminal cost

Prolonged delay has escalated the cost of the fourth container terminal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port by over Rs 1,000 crore.

At the current price, the project will cost over Rs 8,000 crore, Mr L. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, JNPT, said here on Friday.

Earlier, it was estimated at Rs 6,700 crore.

The work on the project will begin after the concession agreement is signed, he said.

The project was awarded to PSA International of Singapore.

Though it was awarded last September, the concession agreement is yet to be signed.

Mr Radhakrishnan was speaking at the opening of the port's new office building in Mumbai which was inaugurated by the Governor of Maharashtra, Mr K. Sankaranarayanan.

Beginning this year, the port will see investment of over Rs 14,000 crore in various projects including the fourth terminal.

The JNPT city office has shifted to a 5,000 sq ft premises at World Trade Centre in Cuffe Parade from Raheja Centre in Nariman Point, from where it operated for 30 years.

The JNPT, which handles about 55 per cent of the country's container traffic, has major expansion plans.

“We want develop a multipurpose cargo handling facility. Currently, the port has three container terminals.”

He said adding that long-term plans involve an investment of over Rs 45,000 crore.

For the second phase of development, the JNPT has hired Ernst & Young and Tata Consultancy Service as consultants.

On the port's performance, Mr Radhakrishnan said it had posted a net profit of Rs 892 crore last fiscal, an increase of Rs 106 crore over the previous year.

The port handled 4.32 million TEUs of cargo last fiscal.

>beena.parmar@thehindu.co.in