The Indian government will spend INR 570bn ($6.63bn) to develop Kandla Port into a shipping hub.
The development in the northwestern state of Gujarat will be in two stages.
Firstly, the government will construct a shipyard at a cost of INR 300bn that will cover more than 12.5 square miles (32.4 square kilometres).
The timeline for completion was not given.
The yard will have the capacity to construct VLCCs of up to 320,000 dwt and be able to build 32 ships and repair 50 annually.
The development will incorporate a marina, fishing harbour, dwellings and an industrial marine cluster.
The government said: “The project is likely to unlock tremendous value for trade interests as well as employment avenues in the region, especially in the ancillary manufacturing and assembly units to come and operate in the cluster.”
In the second stage, the government will build a INR 27bn cargo terminal outside Kandla Creek.
It is estimated to add 135m tonnes per annum of capacity to Kandla Port and will be built along the 6 km of available waterfront.
The new “state of the art” terminal will upgrade existing cargo jetties handling dry bulk cargo with modern equipment and efficient evacuation systems.
Other jetties will be converted into liquid jetties, which will improve the ability to handle liquid cargoes and cut waiting and turnaround times for vessels.
The new port’s proximity to the navigation channel will also allow bigger vessels to dock.
In tandem with these developments, the Deendayal Port Authority (which oversees Kandla Port) has carried out works to build cargo terminals that will add 18.33m tonnes per annum to existing capacity.
Three new oil jetties are also being built, which will add 10m tonnes of annual capacity.
Nearby at Vadinar Terminal, which is part of Kandla Port’s offshore terminal, one buoy mooring and two product jetties are being built.
