Deendayal Port Authority Unveils ₹20,000 Crore Plan for Second Satellite Facility.

Deendayal Port Authority, which manages the Kandla port in Gujarat’s Kutch district, has proposed the development of a second satellite port on land situated between the Adani Ports-run bulk cargo terminal at Tuna-Tekra and Kandla Creek. The project is estimated to cost over ₹20,000 crore, according to Deputy Chairman Nandeesh Shukla.

Currently, Tuna-Tekra, located 15 kilometers from Kandla, operates as the port’s first satellite facility. "We have recently submitted a proposal to develop another satellite port between the Adani bulk terminal at Tuna-Tekra and Kandla Creek," Shukla said, adding that the project is in the initial proposal stage.

In addition to the dry bulk terminal managed by Adani Ports at Tuna-Tekra, DP World Ltd, owned by the Dubai government, is constructing a terminal with a 2.19 million TEU capacity, costing ₹4,243.64 crore. Meanwhile, the port authority plans to float a tender for a multipurpose cargo berth at Tuna-Tekra, funded privately at ₹1,719.22 crore, pending government approval for restructuring project terms after previous unsuccessful attempts.

Kandla port, which began operations in 1931 with two jetties, has since grown into India’s second-largest state-owned port by cargo volume, with a capacity to handle 269.10 million tonnes annually. In FY24, the port managed 132.3 million tonnes of cargo and is expected to double this to 267 million tonnes by 2030, growing at an annual rate of 10%.

The port serves Northern India’s hinterland, including NCR Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. The new satellite facility is part of a larger effort to transform Kandla into a mega port.

ET