Stock Report

JSW Infrastructure receives Letter of Award to develop Keni Port in Karnataka for Rs 4,119 crore

Posted On : 2023-11-16 23:16:00( TIMEZONE : IST )

JSW Infrastructure, India's second largest commercial port company and part of US$ 23 billion JSW Group, has emerged as the winning bidder for development of all-weather, deep-water, greenfield port at Keni in Karnataka on Public Private Partnership basis. The Karnataka Maritime Board, Government of Karnataka has 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 initial capacity of 30 MTPA.

According to Mr Arun Maheshwari, Joint MD and CEO of JSW Infrastructure, "Karnataka is targeting an impressive industrial growth and there has been an increased emphasis on the expansion and growth in maritime infrastructure in the region. once concession agreement is signed We will start working to develop the Keni Port as an integral part of the State's maritime infrastructure & trade gateway. Through the development of this greenfield port, we are partnering Karnataka Government's mission to meet the logistics demand of a rapidly growing State and the region's economy. 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 of cape-size vessels. It is envisaged as an all-weather, greenfield, multi-cargo, direct berthing, deep-water commercial port for handling all types of the cargoes on the west coast in North Karnataka region to serve the industries in the area covering Bellary, Hosapete, Hubballi, Kalaburagi and South Maharashtra. To begin with, the capacity of the proposed port shall be 30 MTPA in initial phase 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 in southern side and will be connected with the existing Konkan line to 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 is currently having hinterland potential of 44 MTPA of cargo and the same is expected to increase to 117 MTPA by 2035. On comparison of the future demand and the capacity being handled by the present ports, there is a need for a deep draft port to fulfil the cargo handling gap requirement in future. Hence, the concept of alternate port for NMPA has emerged, which aims at development of the Port at Keni.

Shares of JSW Infrastructure Limited was last trading in BSE at Rs. 202.80 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 197.90. The total number of shares traded during the day was 837535 in over 9283 trades.

The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 206.50 and intraday low of 196.40. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 170007418.00.