Container cargo: JNPT sees record 50 pct jump (financialexpress)

Jawaharlal Nehru

The country’s largest container port – the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) – in Navi Mumbai, has seen a record 50% increase in container cargo that have come under the direct port delivery (DPD) scheme, for the year ended March 31, 2017.

DPD is a global practice at top ports worldwide whereby cargo is picked up by importers/consignees directly at the port’s terminals and hauled off to their places of delivery, instead of initially holding the cargo at a container freight station (CFS) situated near the port (for carrying out Customs-related activities outside the port area). An importer has thus assured clearance of cargo in less than 48 hours under DPD as against an average of seven days if routed through a CFS.
Container volumes under DPD at JNPT increased from 68,925 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) to 103,323 TEUs in FY17. Neeraj Bansal, deputy chairman, JNPT, told Fe that the port has raised the proportion of DPD cargo to 30% of its total container cargo, as of August 2017, from just 3% last year. Bansal said: “We handle a total of about 45 lakh containers, both import and export. If we save even a day on account of efficiency, assuming that each container is carrying cargo worth Rs 50 lakh on an average – (this translates to a savings of at least Rs 22 lakh crore) – the savings on interest alone is quite substantial. Each hour saved is a huge saving for the trade and any unproductive detention of cargo, at whatever stage, has to be minimised.”
The Customs department has also increased the number of importers who can take delivery of their containers directly at the port to 1150 importers from about 700, till a few months ago. The DPD scheme has been introduced at JNPT and at Chennai Port, spurred by a report from the World Bank on ease of doing business. In late 2016, the Central government had directed JNPT and Customs to raise the proportion of DPD to 40% and ultimately to 70%. JNPT is currently undergoing an expansion programme that is expected to more than double its capacity to more than 10 million TEU (twenty equivalent foot units) by around 2022. To cater to this, the port is in the midst of an efficiency drive that includes the commissioning of new terminals as well as widening of approach roads to the port and improved linkage with the state and national highways. JNPT raised $400 million from the State Bank of India and Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) last year after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval, with an end.
JNPT raised $400 million from the State Bank of India and Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) last year after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval, with an end use of on-lending to JNPT Port Road Company – a joint venture company between the government of Maharashtra, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), JNPT and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) – for implementing this road project.

Container cargo: JNPT sees record 50 pct jump

Source: financialexpress
2017-09-07
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