Boskalis wins India port contract

Indian port operator Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has contracted Dutch company Royal Boskalis Westminster to carry out works to deepen and widen the port and access channel for its container port, located on the Konkan mainland, opposite the island city of Mumbai.

Work on the contract, estimated to be worth € 175 million (US$ 215 million), will begin in September and is expected to take two years to complete.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the largest container port in the country with an annual handling capacity of 4.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Its expansion includes deepening and widening of the 33.5 km access channel, the port basins and turning basins. In total, dredging and maritime infrastructure group, Boskalis, will remove some67 million m³ of sand, silt, clay and rock.

The port will also be deepened from 11.5 m to 14 m, enabling it to receive larger container vessels. JNPT estimates this work will see the port's annual capacity increase to 10 million TEU.