The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways announced major initiatives to boost the capacity at Kandla Port on January 7, 2025.
These include:
- The construction of a new mega shipbuilding project with an investment of Rs 300 billion. It will develop technical capability in the country to manufacture very large crude carrier (VLCC) or similar class of vessels with a capacity of up to 320,000 tonnes deadweight tonnage. The facility will have the capacity to produce 32 new ships and repair 50 old ships every year. Spread over an area of more than 8,000 acres, it will have components like marina, fishing harbour, townships and marine industrial cluster.
- The development of a new cargo terminal outside of Kandla creek at an investment of Rs 270 billion will add 135 million tonnes per annum capacity to the Kandla Port. It will manage all existing cargo jetties handling dry bulk cargo, with modern cargo handling equipment and more efficient evacuation systems. This will allow Kandla to be converted into liquid Jetties, thereby building tremendous scope to handle liquid cargo. Further, it will also improve the waiting time of liquid tanker vessels and the turnaround time of liquid vessels.