Mumbai: Dubai Ports World said as much as $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) may be invested in the first Indian port able to handle the largest container ships as the company tries to challenge Colombo's grip on India's maritime trade with Europe and China.
"What we are trying to do is compete in the regional and international market," Anil Singh, the company's India head, said in an interview in Mumbai. "It will change the logistics pattern of the country."
The new terminal at Vallarpadam in Kochi, south India, which is due to open in August, will be able to handle the 13,000-container capacity ships commonly used on Asia-to-Europe routes.
Presently, these long-haul vessels are unable to stop in India, which forces the nation's importers and exporters to spend an extra $150 million a year ferrying goods to and from Colombo, Singapore or Dubai, Singh said.
DP World, controlled by Dubai World, spent about Rs13 billion (Dh1,058 million) on the first phase of the Vallarpadam facility, which will have an initial capacity of one million twenty-foot equivalent containers a year, Singh said.
The remainder of the investment will cover a second phase, which will add another three million boxes of capacity within five years, he said.
Container Corporation of India is among three other partners in the terminal venture.
DP World will pay for its share of the investment using its own funds, Singh said. Financial difficulties at Dubai World have had no impact on expansion plans, he said.
DP World, which is preparing to sell shares in London, has risen 12 per cent this year in Dubai trading.
The shares were unchanged at 48 cents on Nasdaq Dubai at 3.29pm local time.
The Indian government is also dredging Kochi port and building rail links to help boost traffic, Singh said.
The government has also agreed to reduce port fees that are presently more than eight times higher than Colombo's for larger ships to help boost traffic, he said.
These fees are separate from terminal charges.
