- The proposed ₹30,000 crore new Mega Shipbuilding Facility will develop technical capability in the country to manufacture big Very Large Crude Carrier or similar class of vessels with capacity up to 3,20,000 tonnes DWT
- New Cargo Terminal Outside Kandla Creek at an investment of ₹27,000 crore; to Add 135 MTPA to Kandla Port’s Capacity
- Kandla Ship Building Project to produce 32 new ships or repair 50 ships every year
- NTPC REL signs MoU for green hydrogen mobility at Kandla Port
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
KANDLA, JAN 8
Stating that capacity expansion at Kandla Port is PM Narendra Modi ji’s vision to boost ‘Make In India, Make for the World’ vision, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Tuesday announced major investments totalling ₹57,000 crores for the expansion of Kandla Port. The announcement includes the construction of a new Mega Shipbuilding Project worth ₹30,000 crores and a new cargo terminal outside Kandla creek valued at ₹27,000 crores.
Mega Shipbuilding Facility
The proposed ₹30,000 crore new Mega Shipbuilding Facility at the Kandla Port will develop technical capability in the country to manufacture big Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) or similar class of vessels with capacity up to 3,20,000 tonnes DWT. The facility will have capacity to produce 32 new ships and repair 50 old ships every year. Spread over an area of more than 8,000 acres, the new facility will have components like Marina, Fishing Harbour, Townships and Marine Industrial Cluster, stated an official release.
135 MTPA cargo terminal
The second project announced by the minister is a new 135 MTPA cargo terminal outside the Kandla creek that will be built at a cost of ₹27,000 crore. This new terminal will be developed using the 6 kms available waterfront. It will handle all existing cargo jetties handling dry bulk cargo, with modern cargo handling equipment and more efficient evacuation systems. This will allow Kandla to improve the turn-around time of vessels carrying liquid cargo.
Speaking on the occasion, Sarbananda Sonowal stated, “Ports are critical hubs for the nation’s economy, serving as vital links to support growth and drive economic development. The new facility at Kandla Port will not only significantly augment its operations but also enhance efficiency through the segregation of dry and liquid cargo.”
The Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) has also been working on a number of other projects on mission mode to enhance capacity of Kandla port significantly. A new mega cargo terminal, with a capacity of 2.19 million TEU, is being constructed at Tuna Tekra under PPP mode. A new Multi Cargo Terminal at Tuna Tekra is also under consideration. This will add 18.33 MTPA to the existing capacity. Three new oil jetties are in the process of being constructed, which will further add 10 MTPA capacity. One Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) and 2 product jetties are also being constructed at Vadinar. This will further shore up the liquid cargo handling capacity by 24.5 MTPA. A Ship Repair Facility project at Vadinar is also under consideration which will be capable of servicing 32 vessels per year.
NTPC REL signs MoU for green hydrogen mobility at Kandla Port
NTPC REL, a wholly subsidiary of NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) on Sunday, in Gandhidham, Gujarat.
This MoU intends furthering the green energy technologies in Kandla Port under DPA and especially green hydrogen mobility project. For this, a MoU was exchanged among Anuj Singh, GM, NTPC RE and R Reddy, CME, DPA in the august presence of Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, MLA Maltiben Maheshwari and senior officials from NTPC and DPA.
NGEL will setup the green hydrogen fuelling station in Kandla Port along with 11 hydrogen buses for short-haul operation. This will open an option of phasing out fossil fuel buses in favour clean and green fuels bringing decarbonisation and energy security.
NTPC is successfully operating the green hydrogen blending project at Surat, Gujarat for over two years and already taken similar mobility initiatives at Leh, Ladakh, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh and Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.
