Maharashtra port next on list for DP World

Wam

Global ports operator DP World has signed an agreement with Indian port operator Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) to invest INR200 billion ($2.4 billion) to develop a port in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

The proceeds will be used to develop the terminals at Vadhvan port that will be primarily driven by green hydrogen, JNPA’s chairman Sanjay Sethi told CNBC-TV18, an Indian financial news channel. 

Vadhvan port will be able to handle almost 24 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), he added.

Sethi noted that JNPA will be a “natural corollary” for operations and benefits coming out of the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor without giving any timeframe for its commencement. 

DP World in August said it would invest $510 million to build, operate and maintain a new container terminal at the Kandla port in the Indian state of Gujarat.

DP World currently operates five container terminals in India – two in Mumbai, one each in Mundra, Cochin and Chennai – with a combined capacity of approximately six million TEUs. With the addition of Tuna Tekra, DP World will have a combined capacity of 8.19 million TEUs.

The company reported a drop in profits for the first six months of the year by almost 10 percent, despite revenues increasing by 14 percent.

Profit attributable to the UAE multinational logistics group in H1 was $651 million, down 9.7 percent compared to a record surplus of $721 million for the same period in 2022.

The near-term trade outlook was “uncertain” due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, bin Sulayem cautioned, but remained confident that the “solid financial performance of the first six months positions well to deliver a steady set of full-year results”.