DP World has signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth around US$3 billion with the Government of Gujarat, covering the development of new ports, terminals and economic zones. These new agreements include developing multi-purpose deep-draft ports in South Gujarat and around the western coast of Gujarat towards Kutch; Special Economic Zones in Jamnagar and Kutch; and cargo terminals and freight stations in Dahej, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bedi and Morbi.
Commenting on the signing of the MoUs, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO, DP World Group, said: “We are very committed to India, where we have been operating for nearly 20 years. In that time, we invested almost $2.5 billion and we are going to invest more in the next three years in these projects.”
DP World’s existing investments in Gujarat include a container terminal in Mundra, along with rail connected private freight terminals at Ahmedabad and Hazira. This is complemented by cold storage facilities in Surat and Bharuch, freight forwarding offices in Ahmedabad and Gandhidham, and express cargo services across the state. Additionally, DP World is running weekly coastal services through the Unifeeder Group, linking Mundra, Kandla and Hazira ports to a number of international ports. The company additionally recently launched a dedicated scheduled rail freight service connecting traders in south Gujarat to markets in and around North Capital Region (NCR).
Last year DP World signed a $510 million concession agreement with the Deendayal Port Authority to develop, operate and maintain a new 2.19 million TEU per year container terminal at Tuna-Tekra in Kandla. Initially this greenfield terminal will have a 1100 m berth capable of handling container vessels up to 18,000 TEU capacity size.
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