Kamarajar Port issues Rs 4,288 crore tender for second container terminal

Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL) has issued a tender to develop its second container terminal, with an estimated project cost of Rs 4,288 crore, under the public-private partnership model. The first container terminal is operated by Adani Ennore Container Terminal Pvt Ltd (AECTPL) under the DBFOT model.

In light of increasing future demand for container handling facilities at KPL and as per the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision (MAKV) 2047, it is envisaged and proposed to undertake the Development, Operation & Maintenance of the Second Container Terminal under PPP mode to handle vessels up to 24,000 TEUs with a maximum LOA of 400 metres, according to the project feasibility report. The terminal will be developed on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Transfer basis with a 40-year concession period, aimed at meeting growing EXIM and transhipment demand and strengthening Kamarajar Port’s position as a container-handling hub.

The $448m tender, offering annual capacity of 2 million TEUs, was published on August 20 under tender reference KPL/PPD/CT-2/PPP/2026 and Tender ID 2026_MoS_923033_1, according to India’s government e-procurement system. A pre-bid meeting is scheduled for September 18, with bid submissions due between October 21 and 30, and bids scheduled to be opened on November 11. The tender advances a process that began with an expression of interest in December 2025, with a pre-application conference that attracted terminal developers and stakeholders from major Indian ports.

Kamarajar handled 49.08 million tonnes of cargo in the year ended March 31, 2026, against 48.41 million tonnes a year earlier, and recorded profit after tax of INR 5.96 billion ($62.3 million). A INR 4.4 billion ($46 million) capital dredging programme has given the port an operational draft of 18 metres.

Kamarajar Port Limited, formerly Ennore Port, is wholly owned by Chennai Port Authority and operates under a landlord-port model. Located on India’s east coast about 24 km north of Chennai, it has nine operational berths with total cargo-handling capacity of 58.44 million tonnes per year. Adani Ennore Container Terminal Private Limited operates Kamarajar’s existing common-user container terminal under a PPP concession signed in 2014, with a design capacity of 1.4 million TEU per year, its first phase having entered commercial operation in FY2017-18.