JSW Infra aims to nearly triple cargo handling to 200 mn tonnes in 2 years

Total investment pegged at Rs 88 bn, Company will build 50 mn tonne capacity in coal and iron ore at Paradip alone

JSW Infrastructure Ltd, part of the Sajjan Jindal led JSW Group, is eyeing a cargo handling capacity of 200 million tonnes (mt) in the next two years, more than two-fold its current annual capacity of 75 mt.

“In order to create cargo handling of 200 mt across all our facilities, we need an investment of Rs 88 billion. At Paradip alone, we are going to build a capacity of 50 million tonnes in coal and iron ore, which is expected to be operational by March next year,” B V J K Sharma, joint managing director & chief executive officer, JSW Infrastructure Ltd said on the sidelines of 'Smart Logistics' Summit.

JSW Infrastructure's cargo handling terminal at Paradip will be made up by coal (32 mt) and iron ore (18 mt). “We will be sourcing thermal coal from MCL (Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd) and move it across to meet the requirement of thermal power plants”, Sharma said.

The company had submitted a proposal to the Odisha government to set up a captive port to cater to the requirement of JSW Steel's 12 million tonne mega steel mill in the state. The captive port was part of JSW Steel's investment package in Odisha valued at Rs 550 billion. The integrated steel plant is supposed to come up near Paradip at a site once zeroed in for the now failed Posco mega steel plant. But, with the state government disapproving the captive port project, JSW Infrastructure now has to contend with a captive jetty.

“The captive jetty will be located close to our proposed steel project site. On the jetty, our investment would be around Rs 20 billion including facilities for mechanisation and railway infrastructure”, he said. 

Earlier addressing delegates at the summit, Sharma said, “Many investors are interested in the Wagon Investment Scheme. We are ready to invest in the scheme and we have requested the Railways to expedite it.”

Commenting on steep logistics costs, he said, “Our average logistics cost comes to 14 per cent and in some cases, it climbs to 18 per cent. If we were to bring this cost to eight to nine per cent at par with other countries, we could save Rs 45 billion each year.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dhruv Kotak, joint managing director, JM Baxi Group said, “We believe Odisha will leapfrog and more logistics players will come for the Paradip International Cargo Terminal. We are also creating a separate harbour or basin for handling clean cargo.”