Dubai-based international port operator DP World today said it is committed to play a key role in India's growth and economic development through its operations in the country where it supports over 32 per cent of container trade.
"Building on the historic ties and strong friendly relations between the UAE and India, DP World has established a strong market position in India, shaping the future of the maritime terminals industry and investing over USD 2 billion," it said in a statement.
DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem had welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to the UAE and had said India is the UAE's second-largest trade partner and the UAE is India's third largest trading partner.
Total trade between the two countries stood at USD 60 billion last year, he added.
"We have played a key role in serving India's growing trade for more than a decade and helped redefine the container terminal business.... DP World was the first private ports partner in India in 1997 with the Nhava Sheva container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai. This partnership was further cemented in 2012 when the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust awarded DP a concession to build another terminal at the port," Bin Sulayem said.
The 330-meter terminal project adds 800,000 TEUs to capacity in the region and is able to accommodate some of the largest vessels calling at Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the statement said adding, the wharf is equipped with the world's largest and technologically advanced quay cranes and was constructed in record time.
DP World operates five container terminals in India with a total capacity of 4.8 million TEUs, a container rail service across the country and container freight stations.
DP World is a market leader in Indian container terminal operations and has the largest portfolio of ports along the Indian coastline including terminals in Gujarat (Mundra), Maharashtra (Nhava Sheva,) Tamil Nadu (Chennai), Andhra Pradesh (Vishakapatnam) and a state of the art transshipment facility in Kerela (Vallarpadam).
