‘JSW Infra to reassess strategy for Tajpur port if it comes for re-bidding’

Indicating that the company is still interested in the mega Tajpur deep sea port in West Bengal, JSW Infrastructure Ltd said that it remains open to re-evaluate its strategy for the project “if the project comes for re-bidding”, a senior official said.

JSW Group had failed to emerge as the winning bidder in the last tendering round, where Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) had emerged as the L1 bidder in October 2022, and a Letter of Intent to Award (LOIA) was handed over to the company.

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However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s announcement at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in November 2023 that a tender would soon be launched for the development of the port. This has led to a cloud of uncertainty around the mega deep-sea port project.

Banerjee had announced that the proposed deep-sea port at Tajpur is ready for tender, which would attract an investment of $3 billion or Rs 25,000 crore.

JSW Infrastructure Joint Managing Director and CEO Arun Maheswari told PTI: “We will re-evaluate our strategies. Previously, when we bid, it was 2-3 years back.”

He was in Kolkata to attend a CII Young Indians event.

Since the chief minister’s announcement, there has been no official word on the next steps, though Adani officials said they were in touch with the state administration.

“There has been no official clarification since the CM’s announcement. However, we remain committed to the project and are still waiting for an award,” Adani group sources said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The Tajpur deep sea port project is a challenging one, and the state government needs to be forthcoming to make the project a reality, sources said.

APSEZ is the country’s largest private port operator with an installed capacity of about 550 million tonnes per annum, while JSW Infra is also a major player boasting an installed cargo handling capacity of 170 million tonnes per annum.

The proposed port’s main features include a location five km from NH-116B and around 170 km from Kolkata.

The port will have a deep draft of 12.1m, an 18-km channel, and tidal support of 3.9m, enabling large capesize vessels of one lakh DWT.

The project is expected to entail an investment of Rs 15,000 crore, with an additional Rs 10,000 crore for related port-led infrastructure development, totalling Rs 25,000 crore. It is expected to create around 25,000 direct jobs and over one lakh indirect jobs.

The Tajpur deep sea port was touted to usher in a new era of growth in the state, extending its benefits to the hinterland areas. As a deep sea greenfield port, its linkage to the Industrial and Economic Corridor from Dunkuni to Raghunathpur, being developed by the state, will enhance regional logistics and export efficiency, unlocking vast industrial and economic opportunities once operational, the state had said in the past.