MANGALORE - JSW Mangalore Container Terminal Pvt Ltd, which has been tasked with developing and operating the container terminal at New Mangalore Port on PPP (public-private partnership) mode, is likely to begin commercial operations by the end of March. AV Ramana, Chairman of New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), told mediapersons in Mangaluru recently that the commercial operations of the integrated container terminal at berth no. 14 would take off by the fourth week of March.

At present, NMPA is handling around 1.5 lakh TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers per year. Once the JSW terminal is in place, the port can handle 3 lakh TEUs within one year, he said.

MECHANISATION OF BERTH : JSW’s project at New Mangalore Port is aimed at the mechanisation of berth no. 14 for handling container and other clean cargo. The container terminal is being developed in two phases at a cost of  Rs. 280.71 crore. The construction of phase-1, which began in January 2021, is nearing completion.

KG Nath, Deputy Chairman of NMPA, said the mechanisation of berth no. 14 is expected to increase efficiency, reduce turnaround time and logistics costs, and make supply chain seamless.

Ramana said that as NMPA is mechanising its only deep-draft berth no. 14 for handling containers, the port will need a deep-draft berth to handle the dry bulk and break bulk cargoes arriving through large ships of 60,000 dwt and above.