The Indian shipping ministry has approved a project to build a fully mechanised fertilizer cargo handling facility at Deendayal port in Kandla in the west Indian state of Gujarat.
The proposed facility will initially handle 2.6 million tpy of fertilizers, increasing to 4.5 million tpy.
The facility is expected to be commissioned by October 2020. Tenders are being issued to construct the project.
Total external cost is estimated at Rs1.38 billion (US$21 million), with the port also expected to invest a further Rs3.4 billion into the project.
The port at Kandla handled 9.32 million t of total cargo, including fertilizers, in April. It handled 110.1 million t of cargo in the April 2017 to March 2018 financial year.