Jawaharlal Nehru Port’s fourth container terminal – Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal (BMCT) – is on the verge of opening, according to DNA India.
The first vessel, CMA CGM ‘Centaurus’, will arrive at India’s largest container gateway, an owned subsidiary of PSA International (PSA), on February 2, 2018, with a formal inauguration ceremony due later that month.
On January 29, BMCT received its first container arriving by road during a gate opening ceremony.
It will be loaded on CMA CGM Centaurus.
Phase one of BMCT’s gate complex boasts eight in-gates and eight out-gates, paperless transactions, weighbridge and radiation detection facilities.
The first container arriving by road will be followed by containers arriving by rail and barge.
Read a technical paper by Essar Bulk Terminal Paradip about the evolution of India’s port sector
With the inauguration in February, BMCT’s first of two phases will be ready, with features such as a 1,000-metre-long quay, a container stacking yard, container handling equipment and its IT systems.
The second phase will boost the terminal’s TEU capacity to 4.8 million involves another 1,000 metres of quay and similar facilities.
The estimated project cost is US$ 1.24 billion (Rs 7,915 crore).
Suresh Amirapu, BMCT’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have received immense help from the Customs Department and many other agencies to get to this point.
“We are honored to welcome the first container together with Customs before our first vessel call later this week.
“These are exciting times ahead for the trade as BMCT introduces game-changing capacity and facilities into the market.”
