The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), one of the 12 major ports in the country, has floated tenders for 16 plots in JNPT SEZ (special economic zone). This tender is for allotment of plots in JNPT SEZ, to set up industrial units and carry out authorised SEZ operations through e-tender cum e-auction.
The port is looking forward to attracting participation from investors. It is confident that it will attract global players that are looking at making India a hub for exports.
Sanjay Sethi, IAS, chairman, JNPT said, “JNPT is the first port where port-led SEZ is evolving successfully, and we are confident of attracting leading global companies for investing here. The port has also taken steps for the finalisation of JNPT SEZ –DPR. JNPT SEZ is expected to generate Rs 4,000 crore worth of investments and create direct employment opportunities for 57,000 people.” The SEZ is expected to create 1.5 lakh direct and indirect jobs.
JNPT so far has allotted 21 plots in its SEZ, which include 20 MSME units and one Free TradeWarehousing Zone (FTWZ) to the co-developer.
The port handles more than half of the container cargo across all major ports in India. It plans a capacity expansion to 10 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2022.
Recently, JNPT handled 465,084 TEUs in January, a growth of 9.14 per cent over the same month last year. This is mainly due to the rebound in the domestic economy and easing of lockdown.
The total traffic handled at JNPT in January 2021 was 6.50 million tonnes, a growth of 9.98 per cent as against 5.91 million tonnes handled in January 2020. This month’s traffic includes 0.82 million tonnes of bulk cargo as against 0.59 million tons in the same month last year, an increase of 38.98 per cent.
Sethi said, “JNPT is trying to reach its pre-COVID performance levels, and the numbers reaffirm that JNPT will maintain this growth trajectory. We have taken a number of initiatives that have helped the port in improving its numbers.”