DPA to invest Rs 57,000 cr for expansion, shipbuilding

Ahmedabad: Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla (DPA) recorded a significant improvement in fiscal year 2024–25 compared to the previous year, setting new records in cargo handling, vessel traffic, and terminal efficiency across multiple commodities.
DPA chairman Sushil Kumar Singh told reporters that Rs 57,000 crore will be invested over the next few years to enhance the cargo handling capacity and establish a ship-building hub at Kandla. This includes a new cargo handling terminal.
Singh said the port closed the fiscal year with 150.16 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo traffic, surpassing the previous high of 137.56 MMT in FY 2022–23. The year-on-year increase of 17.79 MMT marked the highest-ever increase in overall port traffic. Imports alone accounted for 102.2 MMT, while exports touched 468.30 lakh MT.
"Salt exports were particularly strong at 174.83 lakh MT, and foodgrains imports reached a historic high of 15.46 lakh MT. Timber and log cargo imports too registered record growth, clocking 55.57 lakh MT during the year," Singh said.
DPA's overall daily traffic volume reached a high of 7 lakh MT on Jan 10, 2025. The Kandla terminal handled a record 3.01 lakh MT of dry cargo on Jan 19, and the same day also witnessed the highest salt volume ever handled in 24 hours—1.51 lakh MT.
In container operations, a new record was set in March with 56,955 TEUs handled, while DPA also saw its highest - 375 - number of cargo vessels in a month in January.
Kandla International Container Terminal (KICT) handled its highest rake volume in Feb with 2,246 TEUs, and Tuna Tekra terminal handled 17 ships in Jan.