In order to handle containerised cargo through deep draught vessels, Kandla port decided to implement a container terminal project at Tuna-Tekra in the Gulf of Kutch outside Kandla Creek.
The major port in Gujarat plans to implement the Rs 5,992 crore project on a build, own and transfer basis under the public-private-partnership mode.
The terminal will be capable of handling container vessels up to 18,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). Tuna-Tekra is about 10 km south of the existing Tuna port, which is connected to National Highway 8A through a two-lane-wide road to be widened to six lanes in a phased manner.
A press release from the port authority shows that the Tuna port will be provided with broad-gauge rail connectivity by the Western Railway in the next one year.
The port expects to commission the first phase of the terminal within three years of start of construction. The remaining two phases will be commissioned at a period of two years from start of work for each phase, says the release.
The terminal will have a handling capacity of 4.185 million TEUs a year (61 million tonnes a year ). Initially, the vessels up to the 15,000 TEUs with draught of 15.5 m will be handled. The concessionaire is at liberty to deepen the draught further to navigate vessels up to 18,000 TEUs.
The terminal, with effective quay length of 2,100 m in U-shape, well protected with break waters, can cater to six vessels at a time.