Tuna Tekra Terminal: Essar Ports Wins ₹2,276 Crore Kandla Project
Image: Essar Ports / India Sea Trade News
Essar Ports Limited has won the contract to build and run a multi-purpose cargo terminal at Tuna Tekra near Kandla in Gujarat. The Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) issued the letter of award on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, after a global bidding process in which Essar was the highest bidder, according to a company statement reported by UNI and ANI. The project is valued at ₹2,276.06 crore and will run for 30 years on a build-operate-transfer basis.
Four Berths for 18.33 Million Tonnes a Year
The terminal will have four berths of 300 metres each and a rated capacity of 18.33 million tonnes of cargo a year. It can take cape-size ships of up to 170,000 deadweight tonnes, with a draft of up to 18 metres, ANI reported. Essar Ports will put in ₹1,552.57 crore. DPA will spend ₹723.49 crore on dredging the access channel, berth pockets and turning circles, and on a common approach road. Essar will pay DPA a royalty of ₹61 for every tonne handled.
For exporters and importers using Kandla, the aim is more berth space. DPA’s dry-cargo berths run at more than 90 per cent occupancy, against an ideal level of about 70 per cent, the reports said.
Third Attempt at Private Investment
DPA has tried twice before to get this berth built with private money, according to India Sea Trade News. Financial bids were opened on 24 April 2026, and Essar Ports and Vedanta Ports were reported to be the only two bidders. At that stage Essar was reported to have quoted a royalty of about ₹60 a tonne. The terminal sits on the eastern side of the DP World mega container terminal, which DPA also built through a private partner.
Kandla, renamed Deendayal Port in 2017, handled 132.3 million tonnes in 2023-24, mostly liquid and bulk cargo.
Commercial Operations Expected by 2031
DPA Chairman Sushil Kumar Singh handed over the letter of award to Essar Ports representatives V Srinivasan and CEO Ashish Rajgarhia. Commercial operations are expected to start by 2031. The reports do not say when the concession agreement will be signed or when construction will begin.
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Source: Based on reporting by UNI, The News Mill (ANI) and India Sea Trade News.
Image: Essar Ports.
