Seatrade-Maritime: India’s transhipment hub port plans on track

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

Speaking on an Indian Ports webinar, Drewry Shipping’s Indian Office director Shailesh Garg claimed the 11.8 million teu capacity Galathea Bay Port (GBP) will compete with Colombo, Port Klang and Singapore for transhipment cargo, with phase one of construction expected to start in 2028.

Situated on the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island, a Delhi controlled territory some 200km northwest of the northern entrance to the Malacca strait, GBP will be well positioned to tranship cargo to both Indian coasts.

“We are looking to develop a deep draft on shipment hub to really compete with some of the established hubs in the region,” noted Garg.

The project itself will be a financed through a combination of government and private investment, but Garg said the cost, at $5.1 billion, is huge, and to attract private investment the government will provide an unspecified “viability gap funding”, which will attract private investment.
“We want to really take hold of that [transhipment] traffic in our own ports and use this infrastructure for handling non-Indian transhipment from Bangladesh or other regional countries,” explained Garg, who added the country is looking to exploit its locational advantage, as it is “close to the international [mainline] trade routes”.

GBP is expected to be designated as a major port, given that significant public money will be invested in the facility and along with the deepwater port planned for Vadhvan will constitute the 13th and 14th major ports.

Vadhvan is situated close to the Gujarat border, north of Mumbai, and tendering for the major dredge required to create the 20m draught required for the large mainline vessels expected to call at the port is expected to close in less than three weeks.

A joint project between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and Hapag-Lloyd, will see additional funding from the state for what will be a 23 million teu capacity facility costing around $9 billion.

Vadhvan Port Project Limited awarded the $555 million contract to Afcons Infrastructure Limited, who will build the 10.14 km breakwater, which will provide shelter for the port, when the dredge tender closes, Garg believes the project will accelerate, following the laying of the foundation stone in 2024.

According to Garg, JNPT will be operating at capacity within a few years and Vadhvan is seen adding regional capacity.

“We need a gateway which can really give an alternative to our shippers, not only in Maharashtra region or West Coast, but also to the landlocked northern hinterland,” said Garg.
Delays to Vadhvan will now likely see its operational date pushed back to 2030-31 according to Garg, although he points out that both Vadhvan and GBP are critical investments that will protect Indian supply chains from the heightened risks of geopolitical instability.