JSW Infra signs 30-year pact with SMP Kolkata to reconstruct, mechanise berths

KOLKATA : JSW Infrastructure Ltd, India’s second-largest private port operator, has signed a 30-year concession agreement with Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority, Kolkata, for a major berth modernisation project at the city’s Netaji Subhash Dock.

The project, awarded under the PPP mode, involves the reconstruction and mechanisation of berths 7 and 8 to boost cargo-handling efficiency.

The concession has been executed through JSW Kolkata Container Terminal Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated earlier this year for the purpose. The initiative is expected to significantly strengthen Kolkata Dock System’s container and cargo operations, supporting growing trade on India’s eastern coast.

In a parallel development, JSW Infra’s arm, JSW Port Logistics, acquired an 86-acre brownfield rail siding in Kudathini, Karnataka, for ₹57 crore to develop a multi-modal logistics park. The facility, requiring a total investment of about ₹380 crore, will feature a rail freight terminal, container systems, and an inland container depot, with operations slated to begin within six months.

JSW Infra, part of the JSW Group, currently operates 12 port concessions across India and a liquid storage terminal in Fujairah, UAE.