The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) awarded a 30-year license to RSA Global for the development of a world-class empty container yard (ECY) at one of India's busiest container ports.
The 62-acre ECY, which is poised to be the biggest in India, will be developed by the Dubai-based logistics company as part of a Rs 2,580 crore deal.
The land identified for the new yard is strategically located near Sawarkhar Village, which is just 3km away from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port's operations area, and about 35-40km from Mumbai.
What is an empty container yard?
As the name suggests, empty container yards are pockets of land where empty containers are stored for future use.
They play a vital part in export-import (EXIM) operations, because port terminals have much higher storage costs than ECYs, and are typically used to store loaded containers.
When outbound container ships have to be loaded, or when inbound container ship cargo has to be offloaded, these containers will be lifted from ECYs and used, and once they are emptied, they are transported back to the empty yards for future use.
Significance of the JNPA-RSA Global deal
The new facility from RSA Global is expected to provide a range of services catering to all aspects of empty container management.
This includes enabling shipping lines to manage equipment more effectively, and improving coordination within the port and with outside facilities, JNPA said.
The advanced ECY's features include empty storage, maintenance and repair, pre-trip inspections, SOLAS weighment compliance, container fabrication and modification and CFS transfers.
RSA Global has also been tasked with enabling three key features at the new yard:
- The automated storage and retrieval of containers based on the principles of Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) in at least 25 per cent of the land area.
- Setting up a Truck Appointment System to manage traffic to and from the yard
- To design and develop a mechanised ECY system for containers equivalent to 1,400 TEUs, in line with ASRS principles.
Capable of being in use 24/7, the new yard will be equipped to handle multiple types of container-related equipment, such as dry containers, reefer containers, ISO tanks, out-of-gauge/project cargo equipment, and collapsible containers.
The goal is for the yard to be able to store at least 25,000 TEUs' worth of containers by the two-year mark, and about 1 lakh TEUs' worth within five years.
It will be developed in three phases.
The first 20 acres of the ECY will become operational within 15-20 days under Phase I of the deal, enabling storage and core yard operations.
By January 2027, another 20 acres will be operationalised under Phase II, while work on the remaining 21.7 acres under Phase III will be completed by May 2027.
'Monopoly' allegations
However, not everyone is happy with the high-profile ECY project at Nhava Sheva.
Trade unions have expressed concerns that the deal could lead to a "monopoly" between the RSA and the JNPA, because they claimed that the 74 private ECYs around the port would be affected.
Ranging from 2-40 acres, these private yards store containers for companies such as the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk, Wan Hai Lines India Pvt Ltd, and more.
“The existing empty container yards will face an existential crisis with the opening of the RSA Global facility as all the empty containers are likely to be diverted to the fully paved, technology-led new facility,” an ET Infra report said, citing a trade source.
