JSW Infrastructure gets Letter of Award to develop Karnataka’s Keni Port for Rs 4,119 cr

The Karnataka Maritime Board issued the Letter of Award (LOA) to JSW Infrastructure.

As per the RFP document, the estimated cost of the Project is Rs 4,119 crore with an initial capacity of 30 MTPA.

Joint MD and CEO of JSW Infrastructure Arun Maheshwari said, “After the concession agreement is signed, we will start working to develop the Keni Port as an integral part of the State’s maritime infrastructure and trade gateway. Once developed, the Keni port is expected to crucially address the rising import and export trade momentum of the region.”

The proposed Keni Port would have modern environment-friendly mechanised facilities for handling cape-size vessels.

It is envisaged as an all-weather, greenfield, multi-cargo, direct berthing, deep-water commercial port for handling all types of cargoes on the west coast in North Karnataka region to serve the industries in the area covering Bellary, Hosapete, Hubballi, Kalaburagi and South Maharashtra.

In the initial phase, the proposed port will have a capacity of 30 MTPA with further potential to increase substantially in the long run.

The proposed Keni Port is located strategically between two operational Major Ports viz. Mormugao Port in the north and New Mangalore Port in the south. The proposed port’s hinterland is primarily of coal and coke cargo which is being utilized for steel, cement and power plants.

It is also further supported by Iron ore, limestone, dolomite handlings and export of finished steel products. Rail connectivity to the Keni Port site is proposed to be on the southern side and will be connected with the existing Konkan line to the north of the Ankola Station.

The proposed railway alignment will be developed with a total length of approximately 8 km. The proposed port shall be well connected with Road and Railway Connectivity.

As per the Karnataka Maritime Perspective Plan, Karnataka currently has a hinterland potential of 44 MTPA of cargo, and the same is expected to increase to 117 MTPA by 2035.

Upon assessing the anticipated future demand and the capacity currently managed by existing ports, it becomes evident that a deep draft port is essential to meet the future gap in cargo handling requirements.

Consequently, the idea of establishing an alternative port for NMPA has surfaced, with the objective of developing a port at Keni.