JSW Infra Unit Enters Into Concession Agreement With Karnataka Government

JSW Infrastructure Ltd.'s subsidiary company, Masad Infra Services Pvt., has entered into a concession agreement with the Karnataka Maritime Board to develop a greenfield port.

The company plans to develop the greenfield port for Rs 4,119 crore at Keni in Karnataka on a public-private partnership basis, it said in its filing on Wednesday.

It received a Letter of Award from the Karnataka Maritime Board and Government of Karnataka to build an all-weather, deep-water, greenfield port with an initial capacity of 30 MTPA, according to its exchange filing issued earlier this month.

According to the Karnataka government, the state's cargo handling potential is expected to increase over twofold to 117 MTPA by 2035, which would require a deep-water port to augment capacity. The port at Keni can supplement cargo handling operations at the existing New Mangalore Port, the filing said.

Keni Port will be constructed between two operational major ports, Mormugao Port in the north and New Mangalore Port in the south. The port will mainly cater to coal and coke cargo, which is used for steel, cement and power plants, further supported by iron ore, limestone, and dolomite handling and export of finished steel products, it said.

The Keni port will also have road and railway connectivity, as a railway line will be developed with a total length of approximately 8 km, the filing said.

The state of Karnataka intends to improve its industrial growth along with its maritime infrastructure in the region.

“We will start working to develop the Keni Port as an integral part of the state’s maritime infrastructure and trade gateway. Through the development of this greenfield port, we are partnering with the Karnataka government’s mission to meet the logistics demand of a rapidly growing state and the region’s economy,” said Arun Maheshwari, joint managing director and chief executive officer of JSW Infrastructure.

“Once developed, the Keni Port is expected to crucially address the rising import and export trade momentum of the region,” he said.

JSW Infrastructure, a flagship company of the JSW Group, is the country's second-largest commercial port operator. The company plans to expand its cargo handling capacity to 300 MTPA by 2030, which will help enhance its future growth strategy.

Shares of JSW Infrastructure closed 1.27% higher at Rs 210.95 apiece, as compared with a 1.10% rise in the benchmark BSE Sensex.