Essar Ports Secures LOA for Tuna Tekra Multipurpose Cargo Terminal at Kandla
- IBEF
- October 22, 2026
Essar Ports Limited has received the Letter of Award (LOA) from Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) to develop a multipurpose cargo terminal at Tuna Tekra, Kandla, Gujarat. The terminal will be built on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Having emerged as the highest bidder through a global competitive bidding process, Essar Ports will operate the terminal under a 30-year concession. The project has a total estimated cost of Rs. 2,276.06 crore (US$ 240.32 million). This includes an investment in excess of Rs. 1,552.57 crore (US$ 163.93 million) by Essar Ports and Rs. 723.49 crore (US$ 76.39 million) by DPA. The proposed terminal will have a cargo-handling capacity of 18.33 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). It will comprise four berths of 300 metres each, with an aggregate berth length of 1,200 metres.
The terminal is designed to accommodate Cape-size vessels of up to 170,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT), with a draft capability of up to 18 metres. DPA will provide common-user infrastructure, including dredging of the access channel, berth pockets and turning circles, along with a common approach road. The additional capacity is expected to ease pressure on existing dry-cargo berths, improve operational efficiency and strengthen multimodal connectivity. CEO of Essar Ports Mr. Ashish Rajgarhia described the project as a defining moment for the company as it rebuilds and expands its ports business. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Essar Group’s ports portfolio comprises approximately 60 MTPA of operational capacity across Gujarat, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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