JAWAHARLAL NEHRU PORT

Jawaharlal Nehru Port has become the first major port of the country to become a 100% Landlord port having all berths being operated on a public-private partnership model.

About

• The PPP mode of investment in Indian ports has made remarkable progress in the last 25 years, mainly beginning with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port which is resulting in capacity addition and productivity improvement.
• PPP is considered an effective mechanism for attracting investment in the port sector. Until now 86 projects worth Rs. 55,000 Crores have been granted approval under the PPP model.
• The key projects on PPP being implemented include berths, mechanization, development of oil jetty, container jetties, O&M of the container terminal, O&M of International cruise terminal, Commercialization of non-core assets on PPP mode, Tourism projects, viz., marina, development of islands to promote tourism.

About Landlord Port Model

• In this model, the port authority or the state only owns the land. The construction of the port, and purchasing of the necessary equipment to provide safe navigation, and faster turnaround time for both ships and trucks become a responsibility of the port operator.
• The port authority has limited interference in the port activities. The land lease to the port operator on an agreed period for them to convert the land to a port/terminal and do the operation. At the end of the leased period operator has to return the land to the port authority unless the lease period extends.
• It is a combination of a public and private entity.
• In the Landlord Port Model, the port terminals including infrastructure are leased to private terminal operators and/or port-related industries, such as refineries, tank terminals, chemical plants, etc.

On February 11, 2021, the Indian parliament passed the Major Port Authorities Bill 2020 which aims at decentralization decision-making and infusing professionalism in the governance of major ports by switching them to the landlord port model.

About Jawaharlal Nehru Port

• It is one of the leading container ports in the country and is ranked 26th among the top 100 global ports as per the Lloyds List Top 100 Ports 2021 Report.
• Currently, five container terminals are operated at JNP, of which only one is port owned.
• With its state-of-the-art facilities JNP meets all the international standards, that is the user-friendly atmosphere, and excellent connectivity by rail and road to the hinterland.
• The facility of backup infrastructures like CFS, connectivity with ICDs, full-fledged Custom House, Airport, Hotels, and proximity to Mumbai, Pune, Nashik city, and its industrial belt make it one of the unique container terminals.
• The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT): It has 2 berths with a total length of 680m and a 15m draft which will be handed over under this PPP contract along with a backup area of 54.74 hectares for 30 years.